The Wedding Date
by TheRedPenofDoom87
Summary: Enter Charlie Weasley, Senior Keeper and dateless for his brother's wedding and Althea Bowman, Healer and in love with Romeo and Juliet. Watch the sparks fly as they plunge head-first into the Second War and learn that family is stronger than they thought
1. SemiCharmed Kinda Life

_**Hi all, TRPD here and i'm trying my hand at a story i started a while ago and it really sucked. It's still the general concept, but altered some and hopefully going to be a really good story. I always felt kinda sorry for Charlie because he's hardly ever mentioned and he's so quiet when he is and i find him fascinating. It's been a while since i did any Harry Potter fanfic, and I started reading one of the books a few days ago and I'm feeling some creative juices flowing....**_

**_Summary: Charlie Weasley has always been in the shadows of his brothers and on the outside of his family. It's no wonder he lives and works ten months out of the year in a remote Romanian Dragon preserve. His life gets turned upside down when he meets Althea, a Healer who doesn't always play by the rules and to his suprise will change the way he sees both himself and his family. As the months progress toward Bill's wedding, tragedy strikes Charlie's family and with Allie's help, Charlie begins understand exactly what family is capable of._**

**_-It's sort of a corny summary but, meh...I'm burned out from school._**

**_Disclaimer: i own nothing but my recognizable OCs_**

* * *

Chapter 1: Semi-charmed kinda life

"_I want something else, to get me through this  
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby  
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good bye…"~ Third Eye Blind_

"For fuck's sake!" a rather angry female voice hissed into the darkness, a darkness that Charlie Weasley couldn't remember falling into. Quickly cataloging his day so far, he could remember waking up that morning, having coffee, teaching a class on baby dragons. And now, as he struggled to open his eyes, bright afternoon light crashed straight into his face, making it feel as though it had punched him. And then something was burning his hand. Someone or something was sticking a red hot poker into his hand, right beneath his thumb.

"Hold still!" There was the angry snap. But it was too bright and Charlie couldn't find the a face to go with the voice.

"What's going on?! Who are you?!" Charlie demanded, trying to sit up. His vision began to sharpen and he realized that he was in the hospital wing of Dragon Heart Preserve, where he worked.

"Stop moving! Jesus. H. Christ!" A small person was sitting next to him on the bed and took his right hand into two much smaller ones. Charlie blinked once, twice and saw it was a woman dressed in robes of lavender, a Healer.

She glanced over her shoulder to see that he was awake now and she groaned.

"Who are you?!" Charlie demanded again. "How did I get in here?"

"You don't remember?" Her voice softened just a little and Charlie recognized an American accent. "Really?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you, would I?" Charlie muttered as he tried to sit up, but the Healer refused to let him.

"I said 'sit still'. You're going to screw up your hand even more," her voice was just a soft but it had an edge to it. "You got bit by a dracling, a small one. You fainted," she explained as she reached up for a vial on one of the high shelves. "And they brought you to me."

"I think I prefer the term 'passed out', personally," Charlie mumbled as her fingers slipped on the same vial twice. She was tiny, he realized, only five foot three at the most, maybe five four. And while he wasn't a giant like Percy or Bill, could have reached it no problem. "Do you want me to get it?" He asked, feeling just a little sympathetic despite her rather hostile bedside manner

At the last minute, she jumped and grabbed the vial and twisted around, making her mahogany curls brush across her face. "I told you to stay still," she growled and stalked back over to him. She grabbed a sharp looking object and a stack of gauze pads. "If you don't, how am I going to get that fang out of your hand?" She swept her hair up into a messy bun and out of her eyes.

"Fang?" he looked down and saw a tiny sliver of white in one of the swollen puncture wounds. "It must have been losing its first set, that's why it was so bad…."

"No shit, Sherlock," She perched herself on the bed and took his hand in her's again. For such a forceful and angry voice, her touch was incredibly gentle. "I numbed your hand as was going to pull it out when you were asleep. But you woke up and I have to pull it out anyway. So hold very still and it won't hurt so bad."

Charlie watched, and occasionally winced, which earned him nasty looks from her, as she dug the tiny fang out of his hand.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

She smirked. "Is this how you get all your girls, Romeo?"

"I was just being polite," Charlie insisted. "But don't tell me if you don't want to."

She glanced over at him. "…It's Althea-Allie."

"Charlie."

"I liked 'Romeo' better," she pressed a gauze pad to the heel of his hand and pressed hard to stop the blood that was now oozing out of it.

He wasn't really sure how to respond to this. 'Romeo' could very well apply to Bill, or the twins, but never to him. He was too quiet, too much in the background to be considered a 'Romeo'. "So what's wrong with my name?"  
"Nothing wrong with it," Allie replied as she wrapped his hand. "I just like 'Romeo' better."

"I see," he could feel his eyelids getting a little heavier. He laid back and rested, but only for a moment, he promised himself.

"Keep your hand above your heart," Allie instructed and placed his hand there. "It'll help with the throbbing."

He nodded and then promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Someone was shouting at him. Granted it was muffled shouting, but shouting nonetheless.

Charlie cracked one eye open and took in the sight of the room. Nothing was out of place; the half empty coffee cup was still there, the letters from his family were still strewn across the desk, the closet was spilling over with could-be dirty clothes.

But underneath the normalcy, his hand ached. Groaning, he rolled over to see it still bandaged up. Vaguely, he remembered how it gotten like that, but the details were still pretty fuzzy.

"Weasley, open up the damn door or I'll break it down! I swear, I will!"

Muttering to himself, Charlie got up and lumbered to the door, only to find Sean Faris there. "What are you yelling for?!"

"Oh, I don't know-you only fainted and we thought you'd died right there in front of the noobs!" Faris spat, letting his American accent as well as his long blonde hair fly. "And, then I go to see if you're okay and you've checked yourself out of the hospital wing and been asleep for three straight hours!"

"Okay, okay…" Charlie backed up, wincing as a twinge of pain shot down his hand. "You don't have to shout, you know…" He returned to the unmade bed and sat down. "What happened anyway?"

"Well, you got bit by a three week old dracling, you're eyes rolled up into the back of your head the healer shoo'd us out."

"Was she really short? Kinda mean?"Charlie could all of a sudden remember a tiny brown haired woman dressed in lavender robes.

"Tiny for sure," Faris shook his blond head. "And mean! Like a dragon wearing a pretty girl's face."

"She was pretty?"

"Dude, you are so out of it," Faris groaned.

"Yeah, thanks a lot."

"So, are you coming out to the pub tonight?"  
Charlie looked up at him. "You woke me up, after I nearly got killed by a baby dragon, my hand," he gestured to his still swollen hand. "looks like it's about to fall off, my head feels like its going to explode and you want to know if I'm going to the pub?"

Faris grinned. "Six on the dot. Hera and I'll be waiting.

Charlie waved him off. "Just close the door on your way out." Charlie began to lay back down when Faris called: "Dude…"

Charlie sat back up a little. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're okay," He looked awkwardly at the door frame.

"Get out of here, you stupid pouf!" Charlie chucked a balled up shirt as Faris left with a laugh. Charlie rolled his eyes and then flexed his fingers, wincing at the tiny spasms of pain it brought. He needed something to take his mind off the ache and like a miracle, Errol flew through the window.

Charlie grabbed the incoming post just as Errol was about to hit the floor. The aging owl shook himself and settled on Charlie's good arm, gave a few little squawks and was quiet.

"Getting old, huh?" Charlie asked the bird as he removed the letter tied to Errol's leg. "Maybe Mum should retire you soon."

Errol gazed gravely at Charlie as if to say: "Are you talking to me?" He stretched out and nearly took off Charlie's index finger.

"Fine, never mind. Forget I gave my opinion at all." He placed the bird on the open window sill and sank down on his bed to read the letter.

As if by clockwork, Molly Weasley had sent him a letter with all the news from home including updates on his brothers and sister and of course as much gossip that she could fit in.

"Charlie, (it read),

I hope this letter finds you well. Everyone here is fine. You're not to worry about us. I am so sorry you couldn't get away for Christmas. Ron, Ginny and Harry were all home for Christmas, Lupin and Tonks even stopped by. I saved the best surprise for last; Percy stopped by too, with the Minister of Magic in tow. I do believe he and your father are on the mend. Ginny's got O. coming up soon and Ron, well, Ron is Ron. The twins' shop is going quite well but sometimes I worry about them going too far. Bill is busy at the bank with Fleur and wedding plans. By the way, let me know when you'll be home for the summer and let me know who you're brining to the wedding.

Lots of love,

Mum."

The wedding….how could he forget? He folded up the letter and sank back on the bed. He lay back down; resting his bandaged hand across his chest, hoping the throbbing would stop.

Another thing to worry about. A date for his older brother's wedding. Sure, yeah, no problem. He could take Hera, but then all of his brothers would know he couldn't get a real date. And then the teasing would never ever stop. He'd be called out on it at every other family gathering: Christmas, Easter, other weddings…this one was only the start.

But who was he kidding? Really? He was no good with social niceties, thus partially the reason why he was a dragon keeper. He didn't have to worry about what people did or thought in this line of work. He was the guy you called when you had a real dragon problem, or when a few dragons were threatening to expose themselves to the outside world. For some reason that he couldn't understand, Charlie had always related so much easier to animals, magical or not, than he did to other people.

Charlie wasn't a loner; he had always had a few close friends but he wasn't like his older or younger brothers who were always the life of the party Where Bill and the twins' natural charm kept the girls flocking after them, Charlie always watched and scratched his head in confusion as they did so. He'd had a few girlfriends of his own, but not the way his bothers had. And all of those relationships had ended the same; it was the distance thing. It was always; "I want someone I can see every day, someone who's going to be here. It's not me, it's you" which was always lovely to hear. And so here he was day after day, living the dream for most guys; no girlfriend, not married, a steady job, a decent living, and no one to tell him what to do. And somehow, something was missing.

And, like a charm, his head was now full of such musings, soon Charlie was fast asleep.

* * *

The Black Dragon Pub was situated on the edge of the Preserve, a warm welcome from the chilly spring Romanian. Golden buttery light spilled from its windows as Charlie trudged through the chill and opened the door to loud off key singing and the familiarity that Charlie had found here after just a few years.

As Charlie removed his jacket and hung it up, he could hear the worried whispers from other pub-goers. Even here, in a remote part of Romania, the threat of he-who-must-not-be-named was still bubbling under everyone's consciousness.

"…right about this time last year…"

"Dementors getting worse and worse all the time…."

"The Minister….nothing's working…."

"Look at the facts….same things that happened last time."

After working here for nearly five years, Charlie greeted the other regulars with a wave and a quick hello. Just a year ago, he'd been trying to convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who had returned. Now, the threat was everywhere. People were beginning to fear the worst. Charlie shook his head, as if to clear all of these thoughts out of his head, the constant worry for his family who were situated in the worst war zone was a constant ache in the back of his mind and it didn't help to dwell on it.

So, he looked up to see Faris and Hera waiting for him at the bar, as they had for the past few years.

The pair of them couldn't be more different. Where Faris was tall, blonde and blue eyed, Hera was short, coco skinned and dark eyed. They were complete opposites in almost every way too. Faris was American and Hera was British, she'd actually gone to school with Charlie and they'd known each other for nearly ten years now. Faris was somewhat of a chauvinistic prick and Hera was often short-tempered and argumentative. Sometimes just for the hell of a fight.

As Charlie sat down between the two of them, Hera turned around, her long braids flying over her shoulder. "Look who finally made it. Still got your hand, then? The way Faris tells it, you nearly lost it." Hera smiled.

"Faris like to exaggerate," Charlie punched Faris in the arm with his good hand.

Hera shrugged. "True," she turned and punched Faris too.

"What?!" Faris cried, rubbing his arm where Hera had landed a punch. "So, sue me if I'm a good story teller. Jeez, the jealousy of some people…"

"You know, Faris," Hera hissed. "Most people you think are 'jealous' are really just plain annoyed."

"Whatever, babe-" Faris waved her off and then looked up as the door opened; in walked both a gust of chilly wind and a group of women giggling and red faced from the cold. "Oh, hello…"

"Down boy!" Charlie chuckled.

"Faris, leave those poor girls alone," Hera instructed at the same time. "They don't know any better; you'll get them drunk, take them home, and you won't remember their names in the morning."

"And what is wrong with that?"

"It's the quickest way to unexpected fatherhood, for one." Hera growled.

"You're just-"

"Jealous?" Charlie and Hera chorused.

"Whatever. You're loss is my gain." He tilted back the last bit of his drink and took off toward the mass of women.

"One day," Hera sighed. "It's going to come back and bite that boy in the ass. Karma's a bitch, you know." The way it came out, Hera's sentiment was almost….wistful….

Charlie gaped at her. "Hera, don't tell me that you-"

"I never said anything like that!" Hera retorted but her dark face held a telltale flush.

"Come on, he's….Faris!" Charlie gestured to him flirting with three girls at once.

"So?!" Hera shot back. "You can't control who you're attracted to."

"He's a complete knob!"

"But he's one of your best friends."

"Yes, I know! But he's a knob!"

Hera shook her head. "You guys always complain about us women being too complicated…" she drank the last bit of her beer and then smiled. "Hey, Weasley!"

"Huh?"

"You've got an admirer…"

"Huh?" Again, it was Charlie confused reply.

Hera hid her smile behind her hand. "Curly haired brunette. Really small, red shirt." She murmured. "Oh, she's coming over here."

"What do I say?" Charlie asked.

Hera rolled her eyes. "How about 'hi'? That tends to work." Then she turned slightly away and got the bartender's attention for another drink.

"How's your hand?" A familiar voice asked. Charlie turned to his right and there was the petite Healer who'd helped him. "Still swollen?"

Faris was right; she was pretty. Very pretty. She was short with long mahogany brown curls that brushed against high olive cheekbones. Her eyes were greenish hazel and seemed to catch every little movement he made, like a cat's. She tipped her head to one side, waiting for his answer, her full bottom lip pursed in thought.

"A little…what-what was your name again?" Charlie was reaching for something, anything. Goddamn she was pretty and all Charlie could think about was that she had pulled a tiny dragon fang out of his hand. Of all the rotten luck. He would have a fighting chance if he at least done something to make her notice him instead in a more positive way; instead of being deposited in her care like a little kid.

"Althea. But you can call me Allie, everyone does. And you're Charlie?"

He nodded.

"I still like 'Romeo' better. Well, it's nice to officially meet you, either way."

"You, too." Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie saw Hera get up and as she passed, she shoved him hard and hissed. "Say something else, moron!" And walked away.

"Friend of yours?" Allie asked, sitting in Faris' vacated seat.

"Yeah. That's Hera."

"Is he a friend of yours too?" She pointed to Fairs doing shots with a blonde woman.

Charlie smiled. "Unfortunately yes, that's Faris. If I were you, I'd stay far away from him."

Her eyes narrowed by a tiny fraction. "Really? Is he that bad?" There was something in her voice that caught his attention.

"….Yeah, well, I've known him forever…" Charlie put out cautiously.

"So," She glanced up at him, a phantom smile playing about her lips. "You run with a dangerous crowd then?"

That made him laugh. "Faris isn't so much dangerous as he is obnoxious and they seem to like it."

She watched Faris now focusing on one girl, a slim blonde who seemed a little tipsy. A quick smile appeared on Allie's face. "So what he's doing isn't the same as what you're doing to me?" Allie challenged.

"And what exactly am I doing?" Charlie wanted to know; all the while in his head was wondering why in the world this girl was giving him the time of day.

"Chatting me up, trying to make me fall for you." There was that challenge again that Charlie had now picked up on.

"If you'll notice. I'm not buying or making you take shots," Charlie countered. "You're here of your own accord." Somehow this had turned into….something. This banter back and forth. It was easy to challenge Allie, because she'd always rise to it. She always had a counter, a clever one too.

"Sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Allikins!!!!" a drunken voice sing-songed and then the blond they'd seen Faris flirting with earlier stumbled into Allie's lap. "Allikins!! Guess what!"

"You're smashed?" Allie retorted, moving blonde pieces of hair out of the girl's face.

The girl gave a very loud giggle that ended in a snort and then nodded sheepishly. "But…sssshhhh….I don't want anyone else to know!"

"Oh, honey," Allie sighed. "Everyone knows."

The blonde's eyes focused for a second on Charlie then she glanced back at Allie. "Allikins are you on a date?"

"No, this is Charlie," Allie rolled her eyes. "Charlie, this is Svelta. She's a junior Healer. Mine actually."

"Nice to meet you, Svelta," Charlie held out a hand to steady the swaying girl.

"How much have you had to drink, hon?" Allie asked her.

Svelta counted on both hands. "Seven shots."

"God…." Allie shook her head. "She just turned eighteen and she doesn't know how to handle her liquor yet," She explained to Charlie.

"I'm gonna go with Sean, okay?!" Svelta pointed to Faris.

"Oh, no, no, no," Allie insisted. "I'm taking you back to the Healer station and you're going to sleep it off."

"But, I like Sean. He's cute!" the girl giggled and waved to Faris who came right over.

"Something wrong?" Faris asked, looking from Svelta to Charlie to Allie.

"Yeah, she's smashed and she's coming home with me." Allie growled as she put her hand instinctively on Svelta's shoulder.

"She made it pretty clear that she wants to come home with me," Faris countered and smiled as charmingly as he could.

"Faris," Charlie warned. "Let it go, okay?"

"I got this," Allie insisted, glaring now at Charlie. She whirled around to Faris. "If I were you, I'd better move my ass out of the way, before I curse it out of the way," She brandished her wand and poked Faris in the chest.

"Faris, I'd do what she said," Charlie stood up and pulled Faris out of the way slightly. Something about her demeanor made Charlie take notice. That and red sparks were slowly leaking out of her wand.

Faris gave one last glare and then let them pass. As soon as Allie and Svelta were out the door (without the backward glance that Charlie had been hoping for), he reached over and took a swipe at Faris' back: "You stupid twat!"

"What?" And Faris was of course oblivious.

* * *

**_So, what did you think????_**

**_This is my second crack at this story and I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you liked it, I'm sorry you're going to have wait a few weeks for the next chapter, finals are consuming all of my time and i have to learn a semester's worth of french in about a week._**

**_-Remember: constructive critism is always welcome and adored, flames are not tolerated at all. they are mean and nasty and have no place on this site. _**

**_some things to think about_**

**_-i had to make some stuff up becase JK never specifies where Charlie works, just that its in Romania._**

**_-baby dragons are venemous if you remember HP&SS (or PS if you're in the UK)_**

**_-pouf- gay_**

**_-Knob=dick, stupid, moron_**

**_-twat=idiot, stupid- for those of you who are not familar with british slang. They're probably be more and I'll be sure to point it out._**

**_-now press that little purple button and make me the happiest starving college student in the world!!!!_**


	2. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

**_HI GUYS!! here's my next installment, don't expect the next one until after hell week, AKA finals...they massively suck_**

**_Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns this magical world and shakespeare claims "Romeo and Juliet" and the Arctic Monkeys claim the song!!!_**

* * *

Chapter 2: I bet that you look good on the dance floor.

"_**Oh, there ain't no love, no Montagues**_ _**or Capulets,"~ Arctic Monkeys**_

Outside, the weak spring sun was trying to shine, it did not, however, deter the tiny tufts of snow that fell in defiance. Inside was a totally different story. With his hand still wrapped a week later, Charlie was back teaching, albeit, this time with gloves. Of course, he hadn't been bitten in a week. Maybe gloves were a good idea; not so much as a precaution but as a charm against getting bitten in the first place.

The month and a half old in his hands were nearly asleep. The Romanian Red's eyes were nearly all the way closed and small puffs of smoke were issuing from its snout. "See," Charlie was lecturing. "They sleep about eighteen to twenty hours a day until they're about six months old. And as they get older, the venom dissipates. It's primary use is a defense mechanism; the venom kills smaller animals like rabbits, foxes, the occasional bird or the stupid teacher who doesn't wear gloves," he paused for a little laughter. "Once they get to be a month old, they lose that set of fangs and a huge amount of venom." Charlie held up the dracling, who'd practically gone boneless in Charlie's hands. "Anyone want to hold him?"

The students glanced at each other in matching looks of horror. They edged backwards into their seats, making excuses to each other and to Charlie as they did so.

"Oh, come on guys!" Charlie called, rolling his eyes. Honestly, these kids acted like the dragon was dangerous or something… "He's not even that venomous anymore…and he's practically asleep!" The dracling sat up, looked around, uninterested in anything around him, and then circled Charlie's hand a few times before burrowing down and hefted out a breath and went back to sleep.

"I'll hold him," A voice volunteered from the back and Charlie knew exactly who it was. "If no one else will." In walked a short woman in lavender robes whose familiar mahogany curls pulled back into a professional bun; Allie pulled a pair of gloves of her own from her pocket and snapped them on with all the precision of a trained Healer. She held out her hands and waited.

He hadn't seen her in a week…And why he was counting the days, Charlie wasn't entirely sure. Stupidly, he'd kind of hoped to see her again, maybe get a reason for her… snarling at him at the Pub, maybe to pick up that banter that they'd had before she snarled. It was silly and juvenile and Charlie knew it but it took quite a while for him to even realize it himself. When he'd gone back to get his hand checked out, she'd been too busy to even say 'hi', and he was sort of hoping for it. A smile at least.

Charlie eyed her. "You sure?"

"Just give me the dragon, Romeo," she smirked and the class grew thick with giggles and he hated that she could just laugh it off while he had been waiting for that smirk.

"Fine." He laid the dracling in her arms and watched a real and true smile light up her face. Stupid smile, Charlie cursed silently to himself….

"He's so warm. It's like holding a warm water bottle!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, but your water bottle won't grow up to eat you," Charlie retorted, sill stung by the 'Romeo' comment in front of his students and her smile and the stupid way she laughed at him.

Allie slid her hands under the dracling's front legs and held it up in front of her face. "He's not so bad," the dragon belched out a puff of smoke and blinked its eyes sleepily.

"Well, obviously no one else is going to take him, so you all can go see Faris early!" Charlie insisted and they all rushed out the door. When the room was empty, Charlie turned around and Allie was still there cooing over the dracling like she would a puppy. "So did you come to see him or me?" Charlie wanted know, trying for confident and coming off more chauvinistic than he meant and he knew it.

Allie smirked again, a crooked smile working across her lips. "For you, actually. I was just using him for cover but I didn't know I was so transparent."

"Really, what's up?" Now he was channeling Bill; calm & cool. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

One of Allie's dark eyebrows rose. "I asked Kane if I could have some dracling venom. I'm trying to find an antidote instead, not just a treatment. Kane said you'd be the guy to ask."

"How old do you want them?" Charlie asked as he slipped automatically into dragon-guy, the guy he was trying not to be.

"Want who?"

"The dragons. The younger, the more potent the poison."

Allie tapped her lower lip. "The youngest you've got."

"I've got a few two-weekers and a couple of three-weekers," Charlie rattled off on his fingers. "But if you want newborn, you'll have to wait a week or so. I've got a clutch that's about to hatch-what?" He asked of Allie's curious expression.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "Really, it's nothing."

"No, I want to know."

"You sure?" she challenged.

"Bring your worst," Charlie challenged right back, glad to have the banter back.

"Well, you sounded pretty nerdy just now. I thought you should know."

….Nerdy?! Nerdy! That was not what he expected in the very least. Bill never got called a nerd, and he worked at a bank! The twins were always experimenting and they never got called nerds!

"Didn't mean to be harsh," she whispered more to the dragon in her arms than Charlie. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's just shock. I haven't been called a nerd since maybe Third Year." Charlie hid his dismay...nerdy? Really of all the things she could have told him…nerdy? He'd been hoping for 'rugged good looks' or really anything along those lines….but nerdy... "Wow."

"It's good though," she replied, trying to ease the blow a little. "You're passionate about what you do. It's a nice change."

He watched her for a moment, cradling the sleeping dragon. She swayed from side to side as if it were a human baby. Allie was completely at home with a dragon in her arms, pressed against her stomach, a huge smile across her face as if she'd won the biggest prize at the fair. It was sort of nice to know he'd put it there and then he remembered that she'd called him nerdy and he also remembered that they were going to be professional about this.

"If you say so. Come on." He waved her onward.

"What about him?" Allie asked, holding the dragon up.

"He's coming, too." Charlie looked back and smirked. He led her down into the dracling room, a stone chamber underneath the main floors of the Preserve's Observatory. The stairs twisted around and around until it met with the floor and the near silence. Quiet, as most of the draclings were asleep.

"Let me see him," Charlie held out his hands and Allie handed it to him.

"Wow…" she whispered as she gazed around the room. "There's so many of them!"

He led her over to a small cage built into the ground lined with straw and there were kitten-sized mewling draclings. Allie started to reach in but Charlie grabbed her arm. "Gloves?"

"Oh, yeah…" she snapped them on. "So this is what did you in last week?" she asked with a side smile.

Charlie frowned and picked one up. "Just take the venom, okay?"

Allie rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket for a glass vial with a thin rawhide cover on it. "Make him bite the top. He won't break it, I spelled it."

"Fine," Charlie reached up and pressed his forefinger and thumb on the dracling's jaw and it popped open. Allie moved the vial up under the dracling's dripping canines until they slipped thought he rawhide and the venom dripped into the vial.

"Ew…" Allie murmured as the iridescent venom slipped down the side of the vial, sticky and oozing as tree sap. "It smells like gasoline."

"Actually, we think that's why they have venom in the first place. When they get older, it helps them breathe fire later on."

"Like a chemical reaction?"

Charlie eyed her. "Now, who's the nerd?"

They drained a little venom off all the two week old dragons and Allie collected a few samples of the month olds and three month olds and carefully labeled each one.

"Thanks for your help," Allie told him when they were done.

"Not so hard to say thank you, is it?" Charlie wanted to know remembering last week at the pub, still stung by her indifference to his attempt at chivalry.

"Yeah, about that… I'm sorry for snapping. I just…" she shrugged. "I'm used to taking care of myself, and most of the time, I'm the protector, not the protectee."

Charlie frowned; unsatisfied by this evasive answer. "I was just trying to help you out."

"I know and thanks but I'm a big girl," she smiled, giving his good arm a small punch. "And I can take care of myself."

"I suppose so, but my mother raised me right," Charlie insisted and crossed his arms over his chest.

Allie smirked and stood up right next to him. Charlie could feel a few wisps of escaping hair brush against his neck as she looked straight up at him. "I suppose she did. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't need any protecting…from anyone…"

"Fine, then, if you won't let me help you," Charlie began. "How would you like an invitation: a bunch of us are heading to the Pub tonight, you want to come?"

Allie cocked her head to one side, like a confused niffer and then shook her head. "I'm going to have to pass, but I'll see you around. Okay, Romeo?"

Again with the stupid nickname…"Why do you call me that?" Charlie wanted to know.

Allie stepped away. "It just seemed to fit, I suppose."

"But Romeo as in 'Romeo and Juliet'? It's so…depressing," Charlie argued.

"It's the ultimate love story, two familes that can't stand each other spawn star-crossed lovers that make them even forget why they were fighting in the first place:

_Two households, both alike in dignity,  
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,  
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,  
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.  
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes  
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;  
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows  
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.  
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,  
And the continuance of their parents' rage,  
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,  
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;  
The which if you with patient ears attend,  
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."_

"Wow…Do you have the whole thing memorized or just certain parts?" Charlie wanted to know.

"Just my favorite parts."

"I still don't get it."

Allie smiled. "You will. Maybe. If not, then no worries."

Charlie shook his head. "You are the most confusing person I have ever met!"

Allie shrugged. "Your point being?"

"You're mean, and then you're nice! You flirt and then you tease! You're a Healer and one minute, and then you're spouting Shakespeare!"

"Thanks for being blunt. It's nice to get a one hundred percent honest answer sometimes." To Charlie's surprise, she seemed a little hurt and he mentally kicked himself. He hadn't meant to go that far. He'd never been mean, ever. His brothers always called him 'the gentle giant' and he'd never hurt a fly.

"Look…Allie…." He grabbed at her hand but she pulled away. "I…I'm sorry…."

"It's fine," She insisted and looked up, all hurt wiped clean. "Don't worry about it. I'm a big girl, remember?"

"Yeah, okay… but I'll see you around." And Charlie watched her walk away for the second time.

* * *

**_hhhhmmm........... the plot thickens....press that purple button and make all my dreams come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! _**


	3. This Time

**_Sorry about the delay! I've had the worst writer's block (Defined as: when the characters in your head get fed up with all the crap you put them through and refuse to work) about this chapter and how to make it right, but i hope you enjoy! Finals are over and now i have lots of time!!!_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all except for my OCs_**

* * *

Chapter 3: This Time

"_**I've been sitting watching life pass from the sidelines  
Been waiting for a dream to seep in through my blinds  
I wondered what might happen if I left this all behind  
Would the wind be at my back ? Could I get you off my mind  
This time…?"~ **__**Jonathan Rhys Meyers "This Time**_

Early spring was slowly moving into late spring as the sun was setting later and later, or at least it seemed like it. The days dragged longer and longer and Charlie tried not to make note of them. He tried to fill them with mind-consuming tasks, like extra reports, so he wouldn't have to worry about his family. The news that was coming in daily from the papers was creating nightmare images that would flicker beneath his eyelids and they grew worse and worse with every passing day.

And while he couldn't wait to see his family, after all, he hadn't seen them in…three years now almost, it would be strange, he noted on some level. He was so far away from everything and everybody that this place had become home and the Burrow seemed like a vacation he'd taken a long time ago.

The other problem that was bothering him was that he still hadn't found a date for the wedding. The days, which seemed to move so slowly, somehow were suddenly behind him. He only had a month and a half to find one and he had no prospects.

"Sounds kinda nuts if you asked me," Faris was saying as he and Charlie were writing out their weekly reports on the northern main Observatory deck.

"Just because she doesn't find you attractive in the least bit, doesn't mean she's crazy," Charlie chuckled as he dipped his quill in the ink pot.

"No, no, no. That is the very definition of crazy, my friend." Faris countered.

"If it's any consolation, I doubt that she likes me much anymore. I royally screwed it up," Charlie admitted more to himself than to Faris It was true, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of her since. Sometimes, he was just stupid and there was no nice way of putting it. Really, he had to work on the whole brain-mouth filter thing. He let a perfectly interesting and pretty girl walk away from him, not once but twice. Man, when he was on, he was on.

"Why?" Faris scratched his head. "Did you sleep with her best friend or sister?"

"No, Faris…" Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I don't even know if she has either!"

"Hey! It is not over until you sleep with one of those two and even then it's not so bad if she doesn't catch you red-handed."

"Faris," Charlie shook his head in shame at his friend. "Do you know how sick that sounds?"

Faris brushed imaginary dust off of his shoulders and gave Charlie a smirk. "Don't hate the playa; hate the game!"

"Good God!" Someone else shouted as a sudden burst of light lit ups the sky outside.

"What the-" Faris choked out as Charlie grabbed his arm. "Come on, it looks like it came from the eastern outpost!"

Fairs followed after Charlie and as they ran, they could hear alarms going off, the automated voice calling for all available Healers and Keepers to report to the Eastern sector.

They reached the eastern most outpost and observatory tower, where they met up with Hera and their boss, Merrit Kane; the director of the entire preserves. He was a stout man who only stood about five and a half feet. He'd always reminded Charlie of a circus announcer with his dark hair combed over and his handle-bar mustache. Kane was the kind of boss who knew all of the Senior Keepers (like Charlie, Faris and Hera) by first name and always had a kind word for everyone. Charlie had only seen Kane lose his temper once.

"…and then the dragon backed into Banks, snapped his leg," Hera was reporting to Kane when Charlie and Faris pushed past all the meek new students who were eyeing the entirely too quiet and dark forest. "Bowman ran after him-"

"Althea!" Kane snapped and everyone, including Charlie jumped as they watched the vein in Kane's neck twitch. "Althea's out there?!"

"We tried to hold her back, but she stunned a few of us. I'm sorry, we tried…"

"What in the world is going on?" Charlie asked Hera.

"We have a couple of renegade four year olds and a down keeper and a trapped healer," Kane informed them. "The dragons have Althea and Banks trapped down in the ravine over the ridge. He has to be moved very carefully

"Why is Allie even out there?" Charlie was puzzled.

"She saw Banks fall and the blood and she ran to help him. How she got by the dragons in the first place, I'll never know," Hera shook her head.

"How many are there?"

"Three,"

"And how many Senior Keepers?" Charlie was doing mental calculations.

"Ten," Hera gathered them.

"Okay, here's the plan…."

* * *

"Of course, they send the ginger to do the dirty work …" Charlie grumbled to himself as he crept through the trees, trying to be as silent as possible.

Suddenly there was a bang, the signal that Hera, Faris and the others were starting their distraction Charlie made a dash for the ravine. He nearly pitched head first into a few boulders as he tripped over the ravine's edge. He caught and steadied himself and lit his wand.

He was peering around a rather large boulder when something like a foot flew out of the darkness and caught him in the stomach. As Charlie fell to the ground he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my God! Charlie!" It was Allie. "I am so sorry! I didn't know it was you!"

"Yeah, well, if I didn't know any better I would think it's a lie…" He groaned from the ground.

"I'm so so so sorry!" Allie insisted again, kneeling down next to him. "Really? Are you okay?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. Where's Banks?"

"He's over here," she helped him to his feet and led him around the boulder to where Banks was lying on the ground, his head propped on Allie's lavender robes. Banks appeared as though he was asleep except for the grimace and Charlie noticed the tight black straps that looped around the top of Bank's thigh and just above his knee.

"What...what's wrong with him?" Charlie whispered.

Allie pressed her fingers together and looked up at him. "The dragon…the mean one, stepped on his leg and broke it, clean in two. Snapped the artery that runs through his femur. There was a lot of blood…"

Charlie glanced at her, noticing the dried blood stains all over Allie's tank top and shorts. She sniffed a little and scratched the back of her neck and winced.

"You okay?" He asked quietly.

"It's a burn on my arm. It was fine before but now it's starting to bug me. I can't do much because I can't concentrate enough. And the dragons…and…"

"Hey," He grasped her left shoulder. "It's all right. Kane sent us to get you and him out of here….we know what we're doing."

Allie nodded without speaking.

"Weasley?!" Banks hissed, struggling to sit up and in the moonlight Charlie could see the blood stains criss-crossing across Banks' pants. "Weasley! I was stupid and I didn't think and-"

Charlie stopped him from saying anything more. "Look, accidents happen. It's gonna be fine. Let's get you out of here.

"He can't walk on his own," Allie informed him as she helped Banks sit up.

"Faris is going to send up a flare when they've distracted the dragons and led them far enough away that we can bring Banks to the outpost. Ready?" He asked them both.

Allie and Banks nodded and then suddenly the sky was alight with a bright red and blue flash.

"_Locomotor_!" Charlie hissed and Banks rose up, levitating over the ground as Charlie grabbed Allie's free had and helped her up the ravine wall.

The woods were utterly quiet as Charlie and Allie crept through the underbrush. She didn't limp or stagger every so often she would squeeze his hand for support and he would squeeze back, pulling her along a little.

"So, do you come here often?" He joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Very funny," Allie snorted. "I am totally crossing this kind of place off my list."

"Really?" Charlie glanced at her. "Why?"

She pointed to Banks, who'd passed out again. "Look at him. That dragon could have easily killed him. And me, and you…"

"Every job has its risks, you know." Charlie shrugged. "You gotta take the good with the bad."

"I suppose so," she replied as they reached the edge of the woods and the outpost came into view. And along with the outpost, Kane also came into view and he looked irate.

"Let's get you all to the infirmary, Svelta and a few others are waiting inside," Kane insisted and led the way.

When Charlie settled Banks on an empty bed and was sitting with him for a moment while Kane caught up with Allie.

"Althea Bowman! How could you do something so stupid?!" Kane growled as he grasped Allie's left arm to wheel her around to face him. "Do you want me to have a heart attack at fifty?"

"I was doing my job, Merrit!" Allie shot back. "Banks would have died! His own shattered bone cut through his femoral artery! Was I just supposed to watch from the sidelines?!"

"I told you to be safe! I was going to send someone else! I promised your parents that I would make sure you would be safe!" Kane snapped. "Did you even tell them that you were coming here?"

"I don't see why it's any of their business! It is my life!" Allie suddenly let her arms drop to her sides and doubled over in apparent pain.

Svelta came over a look of horror on her face. "Allie, honey! You've got a massive burn down your arm!"

"You said it wasn't that bad," Charlie chimed in.

"You knew about this?" Kane growled.

"She said it was nothing…"

Svelta turned Allie around and gasped. She lifted up one strap and gasped at the bright red and slightly bubbling skin beginning at her shoulder and is spanned all the way down to her elbow.

"Althea…" Kane hissed.

"Please…stop calling me that; only my mother calls me that," she sighed.

"Sit!" Svelta insisted with more authority in her small voice than Charlie had ever heard before. "Now!"

Allie sat on the nearest bed, rolling her eyes.

"Charlie, hold her hand!" Svelta was dousing a cloth with some kind of clear liquid as Charlie moved over and sat next to Allie who pulled away wincing.

"Svelta, really it's not necessary-MARY, MOTHER OF GOD!" She screeched as Svelta applied the gauze to her arm. Charlie reached out one hand and Allie clawed at it. She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes.

"You shouldn't have let it sit so long," Svelta insisted as she applied another strip of gauze to Allie's shoulder.

"I understand that now!" Allie hissed and buried her face in her knees.

"Oh God…" Svelta murmured as she lifted Allie's hair and pulled it back into a bun. "It keeps going,"

As Svelta laid more and more strips on Allie's neck and back; she dug her fingers into Charlie's hand. Before he knew it, he was talking; telling her funny stories about the twins and Ron, about her about Ginny and her possible new career in Quidditch and about Bill and Fleur's wedding in a few months. And as he spoke, quietly into her ear, Allie relaxed some, her breathing grew steadier and her grip slackened some.

"There, that's all I can do for tonight," Svelta said when she'd finished, washing her hands. "Allie, you're going to have to sleep on your stomach your skin heals, okay?"

Allie nodded, but said nothing.

"Help me get her on her stomach," Charlie motioned for Svelta to hold one of Allie's hands and pull her forward until she was crouched over and then they guided her back to the bed.

Allie turned her head to where Charlie sat and waited to be dismissed. "Thanks," she whispered. "Really, I owe you big."

"No problem," Charlie bowed his head a little, unaccustomed to this kind of gratitude. "Get better okay?"

"Will you come by tomorrow? And tell me more stories?"  
Charlie looked down at her, looking so serene and calm, unlike her usual tough exterior and couldn't stop the promise tumbling out of his mouth: "Sure, I will."

* * *

**_Uh-oh...I think Charlie has a wee crush!!!!_**

**_Ginger= people who have red hair._**

**_i now press that little purple button and make all my dreams come true!!!_**


	4. The Galway Girl

_**Hey guys, I come bearing the new chapter! I hope you like it!! **_

**_Now, this is where the fun really begins, unfortunately it's a great deal of converstion that took me so long to perfect, so let me know if it doesn't flow the way i think it should!!_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all, not even the song. The only things i own are Allie, and all the other OCs that you don't recognize._**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Galway Girl

"_**And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do**__**?**__**  
'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue  
And I knew right then I'd be takin' a whirl  
'Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway girl**__**…"~ **_The Galway Girl._**  
**_

"You promised to visit her, didn't you?" Faris accused the next afternoon as they were tagging some of the six month olds. Then they had reports to fill out on every single dragon they tagged. They had to photograph each one, write out their tagged number and a physical description they had to handwrite and then update every year.

"I just told you that I did, didn't I?" Charlie snapped as he dodged a small burst of flame from the dragon he was handling.

"Touchy, touchy," Faris snorted.

"Just because I told a _friend_ that I would visit her in the infirmary does not mean a thing." Charlie insisted.

"You're already whipped, dude." Faris rolled his eyes and sighed in disappointment.

"I am not whipped." Charlie glared at his best friend. "I'm just going to see a friend. We've done that for Hera. Remember, when we sat up with her that night she had to re-grow all the bones in her arm? What's different about this?"

Faris shook his head. "Hera is completely honest about who she is, where she's from. This Allie chick comes out of left field and we know shit about her. And you… Man, you follow after her like a puppy dog."

Charlie let the dracling go, watching it waddle off to join its fellows. He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair then looked sideways at Faris. "Come on, seriously Faris? That's a little hypocritical."

"What do you mean?" Faris cocked his head to one side in confusion.

"You pick up girls like there's no tomorrow, but when I go to visit a girl in the infirmary, you get all freaked out," Charlie picked up another dracling and wrestled with it for a few minutes while Faris got an argument together. These six-month olds were the size of Great Danes and were a little hard to hold on to. While nearly all of the dragons under the age of ten had been imprinted as babies, there was still a wildness that even the most talented Keeper couldn't tame. And the six month mark was about the time that it became apparent to both dragon and keeper.

"Yeah, but," Faris began after a ten minute pause. "You are not the kind of guy to do that. You don't pick up random girls, you never have; you hate that I do it and when I do it, you glare at me so disapprovingly." Faris shrugged. "You _are_ a good guy, much better than me. But the biggest difference between you and me is that I know what I'm getting myself into. You don't."

When Charlie was about to protest, Faris stopped him. "And I can see when you look at her, I see you falling like a blind man into a ditch. Just be careful, okay? Watch the landing, huh?"

"Yeah, okay. Faris. Okay." Charlie patted his friend's shoulder.

"Didn't you say you were going to see her?" Faris asked, checking his watch.

Charlie nodded. "You going to be okay here?" He asked.

Faris pointed to Hera. "We'll be fine…Off you go!"

* * *

Someone was singing softly when Charlie got to the Infirmary. And it was a familiar tune but he couldn't place it:

"…._We were halfway there when the rain__ came down  
Of a day -I-ay-I-ay..."_

The song drifted through the room as Charlie visited with Banks, who happily informed him that his leg was much better and that he would be getting out of there in a few days hopefully.

"Do you know that song?" Charlie asked him. "I know it from somewhere…'

"_And she asked me up to her flat downtown  
Of a fine soft day -I-ay-I-ay  
And I ask you, friend, what's a f__ella to do?"_

Banks listened for a moment and an enlightened smile crept across his face. "I know it. It was something my Dad used to sing."

"But who…?" Charlie looked around to see Allie, lying on her stomach reading a book and sing softly under her breath. So Charlie got up and walked as quietly as possible over to her bed, all the while singing:

"_'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue  
So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl  
And I__ lost my heart to a Galway girl…"_ _  
_Allie looked up, slightly astonished. "Oh, hey, Romeo! What are you doing here?"

"You told me to come by, and here I am." He pulled up a chair next to her bed. "What are you reading?"

She marked her page and shut it, showing him the cover; "'Romeo and Juliet.' What else?"

"What is your fascination with this?" Charlie took it from her, flipping through it. As he flipped, he noticed that every page was filled with scribbles and notes in a myriad of colors.

"_My only love sprung from my only hate!_

_To early seen unknown, and known too late!_

_Prodigious birth of love it is to me_

_That I must love a loathed enemy_…" Allie rattled off without a second thought.

"Well, that does not explain your strangeness. It only adds to it," Charlie smiled.

"Read it. You'll like it. It's not just all lovey-dovey, there are tons of sword fights and blood and stuff."

"Yeah? Thanks. But it doesn't explain why you love this so much." Charlie swung the book in front of her.

Allie shrugged then grimaced. "I don't know. Read it and you'll understand. I hope."

"If you say so. But from what I remember of the story; Romeo and Juliet were fourteen when they fell in love and got married the day after they met. And then they killed themselves because their families wouldn't approve." Charlie crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wow…For someone named Romeo you are so not a romantic," Allie snorted. "Would you just read it?"

"Fine, fine. If you say it's that good, I'll give it a chance." He conceded with a smile.

"I'm going to test you on it when you've finished you know. So you better pay attention."

"I will, I promise."

Allie smiled. "I like your promises so far. You keep them."

"What, you don't know anyone who keeps their promises?" Charlie wondered.

"We'll put it this way; I know very few people who are like you." Allie insisted, leaning slightly forward and placing her chin on her hand.

Charlie frowned a little. "You don't know me enough to make that kind of judgment."

"No," she admitted softly. "No, I don't. But I'm very good at reading people and I can see that you're different from most people I've met."

"Glad to be different, I suppose. It's nice to stand out once in a while," He confided to her.

"So, you've got stories? Because that's what I asked you here for." Allie grinned.

Charlie smiled. "Oh? It wasn't because of my rugged good looks?"

"Am I really that transparent?" One eyebrow cocked upward. "Now, stories! I demand stories!" Allie clapped her hands. When Charlie frowned at her, she frowned right back. "Hey, when you're stuck in the Infirmary like I am, we'll see how not-strange you are."

"You've been in here for _one_ day," Charlie scoffed.

"Then you know how hard it is, you being a dragon keeper and all," Allie scoffed right back. "Do you think any of the Healers on duty are bribable?"  
Charlie glanced around and shook his head sadly. "Sorry. Not one. I've tried them all."

"Damnit!" She hissed. "I have a ton of work to do in the Distillery and I can't lay here anymore!"

"You'll be out of here tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know," She smiled up at him and he smiled back. "So, why are you stalling? I love those stories and you're holding out on me!"

Charlie rolled his eyes. "I do have a couple, if you want to hear more about my crazy family…?" Now here was the crux; normally these stories had girls running for the hills. And the last time he had told these stories, she was too focused on the pain she was in and probably didn't hear half of them.

"Come on, your family stories are hilarious. Besides I'm invalid and I need mental stimulation that is not tragedy."

Charlie smiled and started: "So, Fred and George were twelve I think and Ron was nine and…" From there, the story told itself almost and that story led to three others. And Allie was the perfect audience, laughing at all the right places and gasping at all the horrors that Fred and George inflicted on Ron and Percy, their favorite targets.

However, Svelta came on duty an hour or two later and insisted that Allie take a nap and Charlie had to leave. "I do have another reason that I'm here," he whispered before he left. "Listen, I have to hike up to see the newborns tomorrow and I know how you wanted some newborn venom and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" Charlie scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"We have to hike there?" Allie asked, eyebrows rising despite her closing eyelids.

While this was not the exact reaction he had in mind, he decided to run with it. "Is hiking a problem?"

"Uh…as a general rule I don't hike," Allie hid a yawn. "Nature is not really my thing."

"It's not much of a hike. It'll be fun, I promise and as I remember correctly you like my promises."

Allie grinned and then reached out to swat his arm. "I so freaking hate you right now….fine, I'll come. Just as long as it's after dawn, please."

Charlie nodded. "How about noonish?

"Noonish is good. Now skedaddle before Svelta comes back and rips you a new one…" She swatted him away.

Smiling to himself, Charlie got up and waved goodbye as Allie fell asleep, her dark head nestled into the crook of her arms, a smile on her face.

* * *

"Those reports already done, Charlie?" Kane plopped down in the observatory deck next to Charlie in one of the offices which had been deserted for a few hours. "You've been unusually early in all your reports. It's not like you. Not that it's not a nice change, just strange."

Charlie took a sip of the coffee he'd smuggled in. "I needed to stay extra busy lately."

Kane nodded in agreement and tapped his chin. "I can understand why, it seems like the paper is filled with nothing but bad news these days. How is your family, by the way? When was the last time you saw them?"

"Three years this summer," Charlie groaned, thinking of the scolding he was going to get from his mother when he got home. "But they're good, for the most part; I got a letter from my Dad about a week ago. Everyone's all right, but they're worried. Things are not looking good," Charlie tapped his quill on a scrap piece of parchment. "The disappearances are getting more and more common and the Ministry can't do a thing or they won't." He looked over at Kane. "And you know that it's not going to stop, don't you?"

"I know that, Charlie. I know that. But what can I do? I run a dragon preserve; I don't have any political power. This place exists on the mercy of the Romanian Minister who funds it because of the International Statues of Secrecy." Kane shook his head. "I won't be able to keep them at by forever. Despite our early warning."

"You got the letter from Tonks, then?"Charlie wondered as he produced Tonk's rather grim letter that had come a few days ago. "Sounds pretty grim."

Kane rubbed his forehead. "Are they sure about this?"

Charlie nodded. "The Death-Eaters are planning something big, and that's for sure. I guess there isn't a safe haven for anyone is there?" Charlie grinned as he took another sip of coffee.

"The world is shrinking, and it's shrinking fast, my boy." Kane laughed.

"I suppose it is."

"Have you talked to Banks lately? I've been meaning to go by and see him, see how he is."

"He's good. He's going to be back soon."

"And Allie? How is she?" Kane tapped his fingers together.

"Better too. She'll probably have a few scars."

Kane groaned. "I swear that girl is going to be the death of me."

Charlie laughed. "I can see why."

"She's always been like that; passionate, caring, reckless almost to the point of stupidity."

"You knew her when she was younger?" Charlie asked him. Allie had never mentioned anything like this. Surely, if she was related to Kane, she would have said something.

"She didn't tell you?" When Charlie shook his head, Kane laughed. "I'm her unofficial Uncle, I suppose. I met her parents and her sister on their yearly trip through Europe when Allie was about twelve and Helen was ten or so."

"She has a younger sister?"

Kane nodded. "Helen's been married for about two years now. That was the last time I saw Allie until she showed up. Allie visits her sister when she's state-side but that isn't very often."

"Why doesn't she live there, with her family?"

"That is for her to tell you, not me," Kane grinned. "Have fun dragging it out of her."

"Ah," Charlie realized. "It's one of those stories. The ones that don't have a happy ending."

"Now, Charlie," Kane admonished with a smile. "You of all people should know that just because there isn't an ending yet, doesn't mean the story's over."

* * *

**_so what did you guys think?? I don't think i have any strange slang but if you don't understand something just add it to the review and I'll let you know what it means. Um...i don't have much to add, I don't want to give anything away!!!_**

**_now press that little purple button and make me happy!!!_**


	5. When the Day met the Night

**_Hey guys! It's me and i have a brand new chapter for you!!_**

**_I have a plug too, if you haven't seen Australia staring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, GO SEE IT! It was awsome! It has replaced Moulin Rouge as my new faovorite movie!!!_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story idea, not the song or Romeo and Juliet_**

**_P.S, I noticed this story is on a bunch of alerts but i hardly get reviews from you guys! I want to know what you think too!_**

* * *

Chapter 5: When the Day Met the Night.

"…_**So, he said 'Would it be all right**_

_**If we just sat and talked for a little while?**_

_**If in exchange for your time,**_

_**I give you this smile'?**_

_**So, she said, 'That's okay as long as **_

_**You can make a promise not to break my little heart**_

_**And leave me all alone in the summer'…"~ "When the Day Met the Night"~ Panic at the Disco.**_

The next day, as promised, Allie was perched in front of the infirmary, dressed in hiking gear, or at least her version of hiking gear; a tank top, shorts and some kind trainers. She had pulled her hair back and was reading again as she waited…did she ever stop? And as she read, Allie reached down into the backpack at her feet and pulled out a baseball cap, all without looking at what she was doing.

"What's in the bag?" He called to her as he approached, shocking her out of her trance. "I said we were going hiking, not camping."

"Let's just say that I'm prepared for anything. I have an Extension Charm on it." Allie placed her book back into the bag. She stood up and pulled her backpack on. "Let's go!" She started for the nearest path out of the Preserve.

He felt like he should be surprised but at the same time, he really wasn't. Charlie shook his head and smiled at her. "Allie!" He called, trotting after her. "Allie, you don't know where you're going!"

"Direction is just a path on a map, Romeo!" She called over her shoulder.

"Not if you have a specific place in mind," he caught up to her and took her by the shoulders and steered her in the opposite direction. "Besides we have to be back by sun down."

"Why?"

"Do you really want to be stuck out in the Romanian mountains after dark where several hundred dragons are currently roaming?" Charlie looked down at her.

"Point taken. Show me the way, O'Fearless Leader!"

* * *

They'd been hiking for a few hours, when Charlie suddenly stopped about three-fourths of the way up one of the biggest mountains in the range. "This is it." But Allie didn't say anything, actually it had become pretty quiet the last few hundred feet. Allie really hadn't been joking when she said that hiking wasn't her thing; they had to stop more than normal because Allie insisted that she was going to die, right here, right now. But he'd always gotten her going again. Charlie turned around and couldn't find her this time., "Allie?"

"I-I'm….here…!" Allie was a few feet down the path; leaning against the rock wall, her legs sprawls out in front of her. "I'm….alive…sort of…"

"You okay?" He called down to her.

"I…told you that…hiking…is not …my thing…" She panted and then promptly fell to one side.

"Well, we're here!"

"Here? Where's here?"

"The hatchery."

Allie crawled up the last few feet and sat against the cave's entrance. "Uh…huh…?"

"Now Norberta is a little territorial but she won't hurt you," he took her hand and helped her to her feet and started to lead her into the cave, but Allie resisted for a second.

"Wait…who's Norberta?"

"We can't let the dragons hatch by themselves. There are other things that live here, you know." Charlie reasoned with her.

"You said nothing about a grown up dragon." She turned around and showed him the shiny burn mark that wound its way up her arm and across her shoulders. Her very petite shoulders with creamy olive skin that-"Do you not remember my last encounter with a dragon?"

Charlie snapped back to himself. "Norberta isn't going to hurt you, I told you that. Come on,"

But Allie was digging her heels in. Quite literally. "Charlie, wait I-"

"Hey," Charlie took both of her small hands in his. "Hey, I said this would be okay, didn't I?"

Allie nodded, slowly but surely. "Yeah, you did." She glanced down at their joined hands and then her eyes flicked back up to his face.

"Then it's going to be okay," he gave her hand a small squeeze like he'd done a few days ago.

"Fine, lead on," she surrendered with a groan and let herself be led into the cave. And she was fine until a huge gust of hot air blew through the cave entrance, then she ducked behind him a little.

"Don't worry," he grinned as they reached the huge inner chamber of the cave. As they walked, a shape moved in the darkness and Allie let out a little hiss.

"What…the-" Charlie held a hand up to her lips to quiet her.

"Stay here," He told her and let go. He stepped into the middle of the chamber and whistled three times. There was a rumble that could have been thunder and then two massive claws stepped out of the darkness, with two matching glowing basketball sized glowing orange eyes. Norberta, a six year old Norwegian Ridgeback, took a few more steps and then lay down on the cave floor in front of him. Charlie smiled and ran his hands over her snout. She gave a deep smoky sigh and then looked over to where Allie was waiting, nervously.

"Okay, come here," he waved her over.

Norberta raised her head slightly as Allie approached. Allie raised her hands up and when she finally got close enough she stole a glance at Charlie, who nodded, and then placed her hand on Norberta's nose. They both froze until Norberta decided that Allie was all right and dropped her head back down to the cave floor.

A grin worked itself across Allie's face as she moved from Norberta's nose and down to where Charlie was waiting. "It's like silk," she murmured. "I thought it would be rough and scaly but…it's like silk under my fingers."

"Nothing's ever quite what you expect, is it?" He scratched away a few loose scales from under Norberta's eye.

"No," she ran her fingers over Norberta's eye ridge and the dragon rumbled a little, like a gigantic cat. "I guess it isn't," she looked over at him, a smile, a real one, working across her face like the one when she was holding that baby dragon. It was as if the sun was coming out in that dark cave and he couldn't help it; he couldn't take his eyes off her face.

"What?" She asked, glancing around. "What is it?"

He shook his head and looked away, smiling. "Nothing."

"So, why is Norberta here?" She stepped away from him and looked around the cave.

"Do you really expect us to leave the hatchlings by themselves, all the way up here?" Charlie followed her.

"Where are they, then?"

"This way," he led her around a bend of a cave.

* * *

But they didn't spend too long with Norberta, they collected the samples that Allie needed and started on the path back to the Preserve, however, their pace slowed quite a bit when a few murderous thunder-heads rolled in.

"This is not good," Charlie told her as thunder clapped over head and they both looked up, watching the clouds roiling in the sky for a moment. "This is not good at all."

"It's just a spring storm," Allie reasoned as she trudged along after him.

A bright bolt of lightning forked down and sizzled into the mountain a few hundred feet above them.

"You were saying?" Charlie asked. "Come on, there's a cave farther down where we can wait this out."

"Are you serious? It's just a little lightning!" There was another bolt of lightning and this time it was only about two hundred feet away. A few loose rocks tumbled down on the path, kicking up dust. She reached out and grabbed his arms. "So maybe I was wrong?"

Charlie grinned at her deflated bravado. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off when a huge crack of thunder broke over them and the skies opened up and poured down on them, like someone was pouring buckets of ice cold water on them.

"Where is that freakin' cave?!" Allie shouted over the roar of the rain and thunder.

"Just down there!" He called and tugged her onward.

Another bolt of lightning struck only about ten feet away and they dove into the cave entrance and laid sprawled on the cave floor for a few seconds, just listening to the rain tapping on the mountain side and the thunder wheeling about.

"Are we alive?" Allie whispered, her eyes tightly closed.

"Yeah, I think so." He sat up slowly, his arm still around her and it felt really good too. "You okay?"

"I only _look_ like a drowned rat, I promise," She took her hat off and was trying to salvage her hair it looked like. "You?"

"Fine. Unfortunately," Charlie let her move over so they were both sitting near the mouth of the cave to watch the rain. "It looks like we're stuck for a while."

"I see," Allie threw her hat over her hair. "I guess we have some time to kill."

"An hour or two at least. These storms are pretty common this time of year.

Allie smiled mischievously.

"You are not thinking what I think you are, are you?" Charlie asked backing away slowly.

"No, perv," She produced a pack of cards from her bag. "How good are you at Exploding Snap?"

* * *

Allie put down her card. "You win. Shoot." As per the rules she'd set up. Whoever won got to ask the loser one question, any question the winner wanted.

Charlie thought for a second as he scooped up the cards to re-deal. "Let's see, we've already established that you once were a vegetarian, you love to read, you are a Capricorn and that you love 'Romeo and Juliet' and you never answered why you love it."

"I guess," she sighed. "I've always liked the idea that love can change the world, even if it is doomed and can't last very long. Romeo and Juliet were willing to risk it all on each other because they knew in their souls that it was right thing to do."

Charlie looked up from dealing the cards and narrowed his eyes at this. "So, you think you can really change fate?"

Allie looked down at her hands and then pulled her knees up to her chest. "I think so. You may have been meant to live one life, but you can choose another. There is always have a choice, a way out." Something in her voice told him that maybe she wasn't talking about 'Romeo and Juliet' anymore.

Charlie frowned. "I think Shakespeare would disagree. They couldn't escape what happened to them."

"But no one predicted that was going to happen with Romeo and Juliet," Allie countered. "It was a chain of events that led to their suicides. Their own choices. Not fate."

"Well, who's to say that chain of events wasn't fate? Everything fell into place, or at least from what I've read so far," Charlie was on a roll now. "There are some things you just can't change or escape."

"You sure about that?" She laid down a card, a determined look on her face. "Nothing's ever quite what it seems, is it?" she set down another and won.

"So, which was your question?" he asked as Allie gathered up the cards.

"My question is; have you ever been in love?"

Charlie was slightly taken aback. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Allie smirked, knowing that she'd struck a nerve. "What does my being a temporary vegetarian have to do with anything? Just answer the question."

"Fine," Charlie groaned and re-shuffled the cards. "Yeah, I have. Once, maybe twice."

"And it was great, right?"

"I suppose, but it didn't change the fact that I'm not with either of them right now."

Allie laid down her next card and lost. "Crap! Shoot!" She laid her cheek in her hand with the look on her face like she was awaiting the firing squad.

Charlie had the question he'd been waiting to ask, every single time he'd won, he'd toyed with the idea of asking it and every single time he'd shot it down. But Charlie knew that the time they had together was waning and he had to know. "So, why did you join 'Healers without Borders'?" Charlie didn't look up as he re-shuffled the cards.

"You talked to Kane," she sighed and leaned back, running her fingers through her loose curls. "That stupid bastard….I knew this was going to come up eventually; well, um…" she looked out at the rain for a moment before she looked back at Charlie. "My parents own most of upper state New York. I spend the majority of my childhood at private schools and cotillions and balls. It wasn't until I was at school that I realized that it wasn't the life I wanted. And my teachers told me that I had real potential to be a Healer and they told me about the program. So, the day I turned eighteen, I signed up and shipped out. My parents didn't agree and so I haven't spoken to them in about six years." She shot him a sharp glance as if to assure him it was the truth. "Not all families are as great as yours."

"You mean you'd prefer to have your parents and siblings in your business all the time?" Charlie wondered incredulously.

Allie shrugged. "I honestly don't know which one I prefer. But I think I'd rather be on speaking terms with them."

Charlie didn't have much to say to this. It was true; it was nice to be able to write to his family and see how they were. To know that they were there if he needed them. But Allie…well, that actually explained quite a bit about her spiel about being the protector, not the protectee and how she could take care of herself.

"So, what is it about your family that you don't like?"

"It's not that I don't like them. It's just that…" Charlie shrugged, looking down at his hands. "I get lost, I guess. In all of my brothers. Bill's the oldest, he's the one getting married soon, and he led the way for the rest of us. He was Head Boy when we were at school and he looked out for me, Percy, the twins when we got to school. And then we finished and I went to Romania and everything changed. I don't see them on a regular basis and its strange….I don't even know what they're like anymore."

"You said you have a little sister, right? Ginny?"

"Yep. I didn't even get to see her off to her first year at school. But the twins tell me that she is really popular, no surprise there: she's like Bill and the twins. And she is quite the Quidditich player." Charlie smiled.

"You are such a big brother," Allie laughed. "Through and through. She has to be the luckiest girl on the planet. To have so many people looking out for her."

"I think she'd disagree with you." Charlie passed out the cards again. "Apparently she hates going to school with Ron and that's only one brother."

Allie narrowed her eyes at him. "If you say so." She looked up and then smiled. "The rain's stopped."

"I guess it has."Charlie acknowledged with a sad nod of his head.

* * *

"So," Allie was fishing for her keys when they reached her door. "If you can believe it, I actually had fun today." After a few hours hike, the sun was setting slowly against the mountain range. It had grown quiet at the Healer's complex where Allie had a top floor room.

"I thought you might." Charlie couldn't help but smile back at her, her smile was that infectious. "Sorry about the hiking, though."

Allie waved her hand dismissively. "No worries, it's good for me to get out and try new things," she looked down at her shoes for a second and bit her lip. "You won't tell anyone about….my family, will you? They're not something I like to talk about. They make me….twitchy."

"Not if you don't want me to." He assured her as she opened up her door.

"Thanks," she leaned back against her doorframe. "For everything. For saving my life, for visiting me, for today….I'm glad that I was working that day in the Hospital Wing, I'm glad we met." She reached out and took his hand in hers.

"I am too. I've never met anyone like you," Charlie admitted, taking an experimental step closer. "And I mean that in a good way."

Allie tipped her chin up to an angle, a challenge in her hazel eyes. "Good to know."

"I should go," he kissed her on the cheek. And he did and just as he was about to pull away, she slipped her hand over his cheek and held him so they were eye to eye. "You missed, Romeo…" Allie whispered, her eyes trailing over him.

He took a half step closer, his arm stealing around her waist. This was it; now or never, fight or flight. But she was so close, he could feel her heartbeat in her hand and smell her perfume; something like sugar or chocolate, which made it difficult for him to think straight. And now he had no choice at all. She was just too damned tempting to resist.

Charlie leaned forward until their lips just brushed against each other. He paused, gauging her reaction, wondering if she'd felt the tiny spark. Either she hadn't noticed or didn't care because her eyes were still closed and lips still slightly puckered. Smiling to himself, Charlie leaned down and kissed her again, this time bringing his hand up to cup the back of her neck while the other pressed against the doorframe, so Allie wouldn't fall back into it.

Allie pressed herself closer as the kissing grew deeper, bolder. She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him forward and farther down. Her finger knotted in his hair and his shirt. And on some semi-conscious level Charlie knew it had to stop, not because it wasn't nice (it was completely awesome) but because it needed to.

When he pulled away, Allie resisted for just a slight moment and then opened her eyes. She leaned back against her doorframe, pressing a few fingers to her lips as if in surprise.

"I'm sorry," he moved her hand out of the way to take a closer look at her lip. "I didn't-"

"Shush," she brushed her fingers over his mouth to silence him. "Just shush." She smiled and wrapped her fingers around his chin to pull him down to her for a chaste kiss. And then another. After that second kiss, Allie rested her hand against his chest and looked up at him.

"I think I better go," he whispered.

She nodded. "Yeah. G-good idea. But," she grabbed his hand as he started to walk away. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"I get off at four tomorrow. I'll stop by?"

Allie smiled his favorite smile. "That sounds good."

"Goodnight then," he kissed her again, just once and backed away.

" 'Night," she slid through her door and shut it behind her.

* * *

**_Hehehehe....it was the moment you guys were all waiting for, however, all hell is about to break loose, so hold on to your hats!!_**


	6. World on Fire

**_HI guys, i come bearing the next chapter and now things get really interesting!!_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all. _**

* * *

Chapter 6: World on Fire

"_**Visions clash, planes crash,**_

_**Still there's talk of saving souls**_

_**Still the cold is closing in on us…" ~ Sarah McLachlan, "World on Fire".**_

The next two weeks passed quickly, almost too quickly as they were spent nearly all with Allie. It was as if he was sixteen again; the whole world was brand new and sometimes it was as if they were the only two people in it. It was always somewhat of a shock when someone else would pop in to their secret world. They would spend the hours walking across the Preserve, talking about everything and anything; they were silly and slightly stupid and just being. Charlie was surprised by how easy it was just to be with her; she was smart, and quick to smile, had a good laugh and she was pretty, very pretty. Even Faris and Hera accepted her into their little group, which had been strictly a group of three for as long as they could remember, with little eye-rolling or questions.

"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Allie asked on her lunch break, sitting on the low rock wall outside the Distillery.

"I don't know, I've got the day off." Charlie stole the last few bites of her sandwich she left. "I was thinking that I'd go into town. You want to come?"

Allie smirked. "You speak Romanian?"

"No, there are wizards there who speak English. Not well, but they speak it." He stretched out his hand as if sealing a deal. "I promise not to trade you for a new owl."

"I would," Allie groaned. "Except I have the early shift at the Hospital Wing in the main building tomorrow. Sorry. And tonight is your usual thing with Faris and Hera, right?" When he nodded, Allie rolled on. "I was going to get some research done since it was going to be quiet."

"You can come if you want to, you know." He offered.

"No," she shook her head. "You need to go play with your friends, I don't want them to get too jealous, okay?" she glanced down at her watch and grimaced. "I have to get back to work."

"Yeah, okay," he stood up as she did.

"I'll see you tomorrow sometime though, right?" Allie reached up on her tiptoes, which meant that he still had to lean down quite a bit for her to plant a kiss on him.

He slipped his arm around her, holding her there for an extra minute. "Right." He murmured just before he kissed her back a few times.

"Stop!"She laughed when they were getting carried away. "I told you that I have to go!"

"Hey, hey," he held her back for an extra second. "I have a question to ask you, before you go."

Allie giggled. "Ooh…serious voice!"

"No, really." He stepped back a little, clapping his hands over her shoulders. "I have been trying to find a date for my brother's wedding and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

Allie tucked a wayward curl from her face, a gesture she did when she was unsure. "As your date?"

"Yes, as my date." He grinned. "You know a person who is asked to a social event where there is often times drinking, dancing, you know, the works. So, do you want to?"

Allie grinned. "Really?"

Charlie smiled right back. "Yes, really. Who else would I bring?"

Allie shrugged. "I dunno." And then she smiled even bigger. "I would love to!" She hugged him quickly and then started walking back to the Distillery. While, she was only five foot two inches barefoot, she still had 'the walk' the one that made guys stop and take notice as her hips swayed with a natural grace.

She was about halfway back to the Distillery when she looked over her shoulder. "Stop watching me walk away!"

"You like it, don't lie!" Charlie shot back.

She rolled her eyes and waved.

* * *

"Where's Allie?" Hera asked that night at the pub as Charlie sat down at the bar.

"She's having a quiet night in tonight, doing research." Charlie reported as he sat down between the two of them as usual.

"How's the whole 'taken' thing going by the way?" Faris snorted into his pint. Charlie had been getting flack for the past few weeks from Faris, so really it wasn't a surprise.

"It's good," Charlie grinned, thinking of lunch today with Allie. "I asked her to be my date for the wedding today."

Faris let his head fall forward, hitting the bar with a loud smack. "You did not!" came the muffled reprimand.

Charlie threw his hands up in surprise. "Yes, I did. What's so wrong with that?"

Hera rolled her eyes. "Come on Faris, cut the man some slack. He likes her. We both know this; _you_ should have seen it coming."

Faris turned his head to the side, still on the counter. "You saw this coming?"

"Thanks for discussing me like I'm not here!" Charlie growled and yet he went unheard as one of Hera and Faris' famous shouting matches was starting.

"Yes, I did actually," Hera sniffed to both of their surprise. "Oh come on! They spend all their extra time together and he can't bring me-"

"Bring you?!" Faris snapped up, confused. "Why would he bring you?!"

"Why not?" Hera shot back. "I'm his friend! And a female! Besides I'm sure his family would much rather he bring me instead of you!"

"But…but…" Faris sputtered.

"Wordless, already?" Hera sniped. "Normally that takes you about three pints to make you wordless."

Faris looked from Hera to Charlie in shock. "You-I-she…" And then he got up and walked away.

Charlie glared at Hera. "That was nice!"

Hera shrugged. "What? He was asking for it. He was being an ass."

"Yes, I know he was being an ass. He's always an ass!" Charlie cried. " But….I though you liked him…"

Hera took a huge gulp of her pint. "I'm going to let you in on a huge secret, okay Charlie? Sometimes, it feels really good to take the mick out of the people we like!"

"That is not a secret, Hera." Charlie muttered.

"Ehh…I'm still waiting for Faris to mature a little, it's fun to make him hate me once in a while."

* * *

It was pretty late when Charlie got back. He considered dropping in to see Allie, but decided against it. Besides, it had been a long day and all he wanted to do was collapse into bed. He was all set to do just that when he opened the door to find Errol waiting on his bed.

Strange, he thought, Errol usually delivered the letters in the late afternoon. Charlie unclipped the letter and settled back onto his bed to read. Errol settled on the bedside table, looking exceedingly worn out.

"I could go into town tomorrow and get you a replacement," he joked with Errol as he normally did. " Give you a little vacation?" Errol, as usual, had no reply for Charlie. He simply looked on with his grave black eyes.

Smiling to himself, Charlie flicked open the letter, ready for as much gossip his mother could throw in, and instead got only a three lined letter:

"Bill's hurt. Attacked at Hogwarts. Dumbledore is dead.

Come home. Please.

Mum."

Charlie dropped the letter in shock, letting it float to the floor. For a moment his brain had stopped short. The words on the parchment refused to be real, they twisted and re-arranged themselves into some strange ancient language that he didn't know. And then he read it again. And again.

By the third time, the letter finally made sense and he was able to comprehend it somewhat. Bill hurt? Who else was? Ginny, Ron? Any of the Order? Where was Tonk's letter? Now was the time he really hated living so far away from his family. He could have been there, he could have done something to help. Instead, he was hiding away in Romania, like a coward.

_Come home. Please_; his mother had written. Come home. And that was all it took for Charlie. He got up and went to his closet. After digging around for a few minutes, he found an old duffel bag and started throwing in the first clothes he laid his fingers on.

When he finished, he scratched off a quick letter to his family, explaining that he'd be there as soon as he possibly could and that he would be sure that Kane knew and all the plans were ready to be carried out. After that, he straightened up his room because he couldn't find anything else to do and when he'd accomplished that, he tried to sleep.

But he couldn't turn off his worries and for the most part of the night, he lay on his back, watching the shadows of the night turn tortuously slowly to day. He would glance at the clock, the hours ticking by as slowly as if they were seeped in molasses. One o'clock turned into two, which became two thirty and then three and then three fifteen, those were the worst hours because he was he was pretty sure he fell asleep sometime around four-ish. And the next thing he knew it was morning, 8:09 am.

Kane would be in his office by now, or at least on his way and Charlie couldn't stay in this room any longer. He didn't even give it a second glance as he closed the door behind himself.

As he walked into the preserve, he only waved to those who waved to him. He didn't have time for hellos or any other kind of greeting. Most of them shot confused looks to their peers as Charlie, who was almost always cheerful, stride toward Kane's office with the most determined expression on his face.

When he finally got to Kane's office, Kane was already there standing in the doorway, flicking through a letter with Tonk's loopy handwriting floating across it. Kane looked up from the letter as Charlie approached, and shook his head sadly.

"You know," Charlie dropped his bag on the floor, feeling more exhausted than he had in a long while.

"Come in," Kane turned wearily and led him into the office and Charlie shut the door behind himself. _Muffiato_!" Kane growled and then set down his wand. "I got a letter from Nymphadora a few hours ago. I know about your brother. And I'm sorry."

"I have to go, Kane." Charlie dropped his face into his hands for a moment. "I have to go home."

"You have more than enough vacation time saved up, that's what I'll tell people if they ask. I assume you don't want them to know?"

"Not unless you or I have approved them. I'll tell Hera and Faris myself and you know the others to tell." Charlie leaned back into the chair. And then he remembered the day before and the plans with Allie… "Shit…!" he growled.

"What's wrong?" Kane leaned forward. "What is it?"

"Allie. I haven't told her yet. I promised I'd see her today."

"When are you supposed to leave?" Kane wondered as he thumbed through a few clipboards of parchments full of multi-colored ink.

"No time specifically. I told them that I'd leave after I talked to you. Why?"

"Althea will be off at ten or so. I'd go see her." Kane looked up from his charts and smiled.

"Thanks." Charlie got up so fast he nearly knocked the chair over.

"Oh, and Charlie, Althea may not be my blood family" Kane called and Charlie turned around. Kane tapped his fingers together as if contemplating a huge dilemma. "But if you hurt my girl, have no doubt that I'll set Norberta after you."

Charlie nodded. "I know." He turned and started for the Eastern Observatory deck where he knew Faris and Hera were supposed to be that day. It didn't take very long to find the pair of them. They were having another rip-roaring row, but when he sat down between them, they paused; shocked into a temporary peace.

"Dude, what's up with your face?" Faris asked as Charlie sat.

Wordlessly, Charlie handed Hera the letter from his mother. When she'd finished, she handed it to Faris.

"Dumbledore?" Hera whispered. For as long as Charlie could remember, Hera had always been one of the boys and reminded him a great deal of his sister. Hera was as tough as they came and he'd never ever seen her cry or even come close to crying, not even when she had to re-grow all the bones in her arm. "We knew they were planning something but….Dumbledore?"

Faris looked sidelong at the both of them. "What does this mean?"

"Nothing good," Charlie replied. "Nothing good at all." Hera sat back in her chair and buried her face in her hands. Charlie reached over and looped an arm around her shoulders. "Listen, I have to go home. Bill's hurt."

"How long are you gonna be gone?" Faris asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," Charlie glanced at them both. "I need you guys to keep up the work here, okay?"

Faris nodded. "We can." And then he did something that Charlie would have never expected from him; Faris stood and walked over to where Hera was sitting. He wrapped his arms around Hera and she leaned into him. "Keep writing though. Let us know what's going on."

When he'd finished setting the plans with Faris and Hera, Charlie wandered down to the Hospital Wing, the very same one where he and Allie had met. But she wasn't there. He found Svelta and she informed him that he'd just missed Allie by about ten minutes.

"Is there something going on?" Svelta asked as she wiped her hands on a rag.

Charlie shook his head. "No, why would you say that?"

She shrugged. "Just a weird feeling, I guess."

When she'd finished questioning him, Charlie almost ran to the Healer's Complex and Allie's door. He knocked as loudly as he could until he heard Allie screech: "Give me two fucking seconds please!"

And then the door opened, Allie stepped out in sweatpants and a tank top, her brown curls a mess. Her look of annoyance smoothed into one of surprise. "Charlie? I thought you were going into town today, what's up?"

Charlie thought he could just tell her. Tell her and walk away, but the smile on her lips, her hair in her face and her hands on her hips….he just couldn't. The words stopped short in his throat and he only gaped at her.

When he didn't say anything right away, she opened the door wider. She took a step out and noticed his bag. "Charlie? What's going on?"

He swallowed hard. "Allie…"

Allie took his hand. "Tell me what's wrong, you're freaking me out!"

He sighed. "There's something I have to tell you."

"I've got coffee and time, come on in." She let him in the door with a small, reassuring smile.

After an hour of explaining the situation to Allie, Charlie sat down at the table opposite of her. "Look, my brother is hurt…I'm not sure how bad and I have to go to my family, today."

Allie nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. "I understand." She stood and so did he. "And I'm coming with you."

"No, Allie. You are staying here with Kane, where it's safe." He insisted, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"But for how long, Charlie? You said yourself this nut job is just getting started and there's no reason why he won't stop." Allie reached up and encircled his wrists. "As a Healer, it's my job to help people, all people. Including your brother and all those people who are being hurt by this guy. It's my job."

"No." Was all he said. "No."

"Charlie-!"

"I said no!"

"And I'm saying yes!" Allie pulled away from him. "You don't get to tell me how to live my life!"

"I do when you're about to do something stupid!"

"You're running back, too, you know!" she countered.

He grabbed her arm and hauled her back to him. "This is not a game, Allie! This is a war and the way he works is that he uses the people that are close to us against us! What if he got to you?! I wouldn't be able to live with myself…" he let go of her arm and let it fall across her waist.

Allie pulled away again. "No, you don't get to pull that shit with me!" She crossed her arms over her chest. She was digging her in her heels again. And there was no way he could persuade her otherwise. Not when she knew how he felt about her and how really he didn't want to leave her alone while he was hundreds of miles away from her. "I will find the way there if you won't take me and you know it."

Charlie backed against the table, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't…"

"Don't what?" Allie was quieter now, waiting for the next shot to be fired. "Don't what?"

He locked eyes with her, his brown on her hazel green and reached out to her. "I don't want to pull you into the middle of this." Allie placed her hand in his. "You don't understand, this is only the beginning, it's only going to get worse."

"Then let me help, please…" Allie leaned against him, and wrapped her arms around them. "Let's help together…"

Charlie sighed. "This was not my idea, alright? You get to explain to Kane why you're going."

"Why would Kane have anything to do with this?" Allie wondered.

"Oh, he only threatened to have me quietly killed if anything happened to you," Charlie grinned.

Allie shrugged. "Yeah, that sounds like Uncle Merrit." She kissed his cheek. "I'll be ready to go in five."

"Fine, but if you're not ready to go in five, I'm leaving without you!" He called to her.

"You will not!" She shouted back.

With a minute and a half left, Allie appeared back in the kitchen, her back pack on her back, dressed and ready to go. "I already wrote a quick note to Kane and sent it. Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and started to pull him up but he held her back for a moment. "What?"

"You keep looking at this like a game, Allie." Charlie told her. "This is serious. This is life and death."

"My job is life and death," Allie murmured, reaching up and pressing her hand against his cheek. "If I were to dwell on it all the time, I would drive myself crazy. I learned that you just have to…accept whatever comes," she shrugged.

"I thought you were all about changing your fate?" Charlie insisted, running his hand up her spine.

"There are some things that you can change and some that you can't."

"Well, doesn't that suit you as you see fit?" Charlie joked.

"Are you sure that it's not just that you don't want me to meet your family?" Allie narrowed her eyes at him, a smile tugging at her mouth.

"Oh, no, you caught me," Charlie laughed. "I've already scared you with enough stories; I'm surprised you still want to come."

"No more stalling," She whispered. "Let's go!"

* * *

**_Now Allie gets to meet the rest of the fam...hehehehe_**

**_Plz R&R!!! and i don't mean rest and relaxation!!_**


	7. Fix You

**_Hey guys, sorry for the chapter being so late!! school has been eating me alive the last few weeks and I've been trying to find time to work on this!! I hope you like it!_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing,not even the song!_**

**_Enjoy!!_**

* * *

Chapter 7: Fix You

_**"**__**When you try your best but you don't succeed**_

_**When you get what you want but not what you need**_

_**When you feel so tired but you can't sleep **_

_**Stuck in reverse.**_

_**And the tears come streaming down your face **_

_**When you lose something you can't replace **_

_**When you love someone but it goes to waste **_

_**Could it be worse?"~ Coldplay, "Fix You".**_

It was dark when Charlie and Allie arrived in the wide open field. He'd been warned of the protection charms placed on the Burrow and to the eye of someone who didn't know the location, it simply looked like an empty grassy bank next to a stream.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Allie whispered, glancing around in the dark as she slipped her wand out of her pocket.

"Very sure. I know this place like the back of my hand," Charlie starting feeling in the darkness in front of them, looking for the fence which marked the edge of the property. It had to be close.

"What are you doing?" Allie flicked her wand upwards and lit up a twenty foot radius around them.

"Looking for the fence and…." his hand closed over it, invisible to the naked eye. "I found it." He took her free hand and helped her over.

"This is where you grew up?" Allie gazed up at the Burrow when she could finally see it. She stepped back, her back against the fence as she in all the additions and mismatched paint, the rusty cauldron which had been there for as long as Charlie could remember; even the old wellington boots were littered all over the yard; half hidden by the long uncut grass. It was strange, actually, to let Allie see this, to let her see where he grew up and show her a place that not even he knew very well but was a huge part of his life.

"Uh, yeah. It's kinda messy-"

"No," Allie shook her head, and slipped her hand into his in a sign of assurance. "It has character. Much more than any other houses, I've lived in."

"House_s_?" He asked putting the emphasis on the "s".

"Yeah. There was the Penthouse in Manhattan, the Victorian in the Hamptons, and the house in Buffalo. Oh, and the one near Zuma Beach in California." When he looked confused, she nudged him. "I told you, my parents are rich."

"But that many houses? You can only live in one at a time."

Allie shrugged. "I know."

Charlie gave her a smile and knocked on the door. There was a sudden rush of feet toward the door. "Who is it?" his mother's voice rang out.

"It's Charlie, Mum."

"Oh, Charlie-!" The door began to crack open and then it slammed shut in their faces as his father muttered; "Molly, we have to ask! We can't just assume!"

"Oh, fine!" Molly Weasley murmured. "Charlie, what is the nickname I have for you?"

"Oh God!" Charlie hissed. "Anything but this, Mum…." He glanced at Allie for some sympathy but found none there. She only arched one eyebrow and waited. When he didn't say anything, Allie poked him hard in the shoulder.

"Just answer he damn question, Romeo!"

Charlie groaned. "You used to call me 'Charlie-bear'."

Allie let out just one giggle before Charlie glared at her and she shushed up. At the same moment, the door opened and Molly Weasley launched herself at Charlie, making him stumble back a few steps. Charlie smiled anyway and wrapped his arms around her. "It's good to see you too, Mum." It'd been too long, he decided in that moment.

"Goodness me," she pulled back a moment to look at Charlie. "Look at you, my Charlie-bear!"

"Mum, please," Charlie looked pointedly at his father, who remained in the doorway smiling gravely.

"What? I haven't seen you in three-" She stopped short when she spied Allie. "Who's this?" Molly pushed passed Charlie to get a better look at Allie.

"Mum, Dad, this is Althea Bowman," Charlie placed a hand on Molly's shoulder. "She's a friend of mine from the Preserve. She's also my date for the wedding."

"Oh!" Molly's eyes lit up. "She's lovely! Really."

"She speaks English, Mum" Charlie groaned.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Allie put her hand out to shake. "Both of you."

Suddenly a lavender-haired woman poked her head around the corner. "What in the world is going on here?" She was familiar, but very different than he remembered, or at least he thought. The hair was the same, well sort of, but she was all business with squared shoulders and a no nonsense grimace.

"Tonks?" Charlie wondered, leaning forward slightly. "Is that you?"

The lavender hair began turning a bright magenta as she smiled, the familiar dimples forming on her cheeks. "Wotcher, Charlie… Now, let's move this inside, huh?"

They followed Tonks and his father inside the house. "Where is everyone?" Charlie asked as they walked.

"Bill's resting upstairs with Fleur," Arthur rubbed his hand over his forehead. "Fred and George are at their flat and Ginny and Ron will be home tomorrow."

"How is Bill?" Tonks wondered. "I haven't seen him since…." She trailed off, looking out the window.

"He's doing all right. Madam Pomfrey can't do much for the scaring and some are still bleeding."

"Maybe I could take a look at him?" Allie offered. "I'm a Healer and I could help…"

"He's in his room," Arthur murmured. "Why don't you show Allie…is it? Show her where he is and then we'll have a nice long talk."

Even at twenty five, the look on his father's face was still enough to make him want to run for his bed. "Of course, Dad." He pulled Allie up the stairs.

As they ascended the stairs, Allie would pause every so often to glance at the family portraits. Every picture held more and more Weasleys, each growing older with various missing teeth, scars and bad haircuts.

She stopped still at one of the last ones. "There're so many of you…" she murmured as she trailed her fingers over the frame. "How old were you?"

Charlie stepped down. "Uh…Bill was seventeen, I was sixteen, Percy's fourteen, the twins are thirteen, Ron's ten and Ginny's eight."

"Percy? You don't talk about him much…"

Charlie dragged his hand through his hair. "He and Dad and a pretty nasty row a few years back."

"So, he's not coming to the wedding?"

"No, he's not." Charlie actually hadn't thought about it until now. He could actually remember those days when it was just Bill, him and Perce, the days when the safe was safe, those golden days before the twins were born. And then it hit him all at once, that Percy wasn't going to be here for the wedding, just like he wasn't here now. So much had changed since he'd been gone, so much so he didn't even realize until now. "Come on, you said you wanted to see Bill."

"I do," Allie followed him up the rest of the stairs and into the darkened room at the end of the hall.

As soon as the door opened, Fleur's head snapped up and she leapt of the other bed she'd been sleeping in. "Charlie?" She whispered. "Iz zat you?"

"It's me," Charlie smiled. "How are you? How's he?" He nodded toward the still form on the bed.

" 'e'z doing better…. 'o iz zat?" She pointed to Allie.

Charlie opened his mouth to introduce her but Allie stepped up behind him, holding out her hand.

"_Bonjour, Fleur. M'appelle Allie. Je suis une Healer. Je suis ici aider_."

A smile lit up Fleur's lovely face. "_Merci. S'occupe de Il. S'il vous plait. J'aime il_."

Allie nodded. " _Je comprend_." And set to work, pulling bandages and vials from her back pack as Fleur pulled Charlie down into the nearest chair, gripping his hand.

Allie unwound the bandages without pulling a face, but Charlie sure felt like it. It was as if some massive cat with barb wire claws decided to take a swipe at Bill's face and tore it to shreds. But Allie was composed and professional as she started dabbing at Bill's face.

This wasn't right. Seeing Bill lying there in bed. It was…unnatural; that was the only word Charlie could find for it. He leaned back in the chair, only half watching Allie working while he let his eyes wander across his and Bill's old room. The posters of the Chudley Cannons were everywhere, the familar photos that spoke of a lifetime ago moved in the darkness, even the view was the same from the third floor. Everything was the same but him.

As Allie was working, however, Bill started waking up.

"Who're you?" Bill's voice cracked a little. "Where's Fleur?" He started to look for her, but Allie stopped him with a gentle finger to his un-marked cheek.

"Fleur is right here. My name is Allie, I'm a friend of your brother's, and he thought I could help."

"Which brother?"

"Charlie."

There was a wan smile from Bill. "Finally. Mum must be ecstatic."

Allie cast a grin back at Charlie. "Really? Doesn't bring girls home often, does he?"

Bill and Fleur laughed softly into their hands.

"Thanks Bill," Charlie growled.

"Anytime little brother. Anytime."

"Well, if you're done making fun of me, I have to go down and talk with Mum and Dad."

"I'm almost done," Allie told him. "I'll be down in a little while."

"Good luck with that," Bill called as Charlie left. He headed back down the stairs and into the kitchen where he found his parents conversing soberly at the dining room table. They glanced up when they heard him come in the room.

"Sit down, son." His father pointed to an empty chair. When Charlie did sit, it started. "How could you be so reckless to involve an innocent woman in all of this? Tell me you didn't induct her!"

"I all but did." Charlie met his father's glare head on. "She wants to help. I tried to persuade her not to come but…She's one of the best Healers I've ever seen and we're going to need her."

His mother sighed. "What can she do for Bill that Madam Pomfrey hasn't already done?"

"What do you mean?"

She got up and went into the kitchen, busying herself with pots and pans. Charlie turned to his father. "What does she mean?"

A shadow passed over his father's face. "Bill was attacked by Fenrir Grayback. We don't think there was any contamination but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be scarred…forever."

It was then that someone came down the stairs. Allie poked her head around the corner. "Hi…I hope I'm not interrupting anything…"

"Oh, Allie," his mother called. "Come sit. Can I get you anything? We have some leftover mince pie? Tea? Anything?

"I'll take some tea, if you don't mind?"

"So, how's Bill?" his father wondered.

"He's up now, talking with Fleur. There's no infection, no fever. No contamination, so far as I can tell. The scarring is very bad, I can help with that a little. I've been working with dragon venom and I think it might help some." Allie rattled off as she accepted a steaming cup of tea from Molly.

"So, you know what attacked our son?" Arthur asked quietly.

"I worked with werewolf victims a few years ago. Any Healer would know the signs," Allie took a sip of her tea and glanced at Charlie.

"Charlie filled you in, then? About who we are?"

Again, Allie nodded. "I do know and I won't tell. I swear."

Arthur glanced at Tonks and then at Molly. "Tonks, you're a prominent member of the Order, what do you think?"

"We could induct her…" Tonks tapped her chin. "That's always an option."

"Well, can it get me to London tomorrow?"

Charlie frowned, confused. "Why do you need to go to London?"

She twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger nervously. "Because I have a job waiting for me at St. Mungo's."

He leaned away. "You never told me this…"

She tapped her fingers on the table.

"It was sort of sudden, really. This is my third application. They turned me down before because I didn't have enough experience and I only got my letter about three days ago."

"Now, wait a second," Tonks suddenly leaned forward. "She's going to be working in London, in the middle of the Ministry. She's the perfect spy!"

"No, she isn't!" Charlie snapped, making everyone at the table jump about a foot or so. "She's a Healer; that is the only thing she is. And I am not going to let her be put at risk for us!"

"But think about it, Charlie, from a strategic point of view-!" Tonks began but Molly cut her off.

"Nothing has to be decided tonight. They only just got here a few hours ago and I'm sure everything will look better tomorrow, alright? Allie, come with me, I'll show you where you'll be staying." She and Allie bustled out of the kitchen and as she passed his chair, Allie gave him a curious look; like a grimace and a smirk and he turned to watch her leave the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Tonks cocked her head to one side.

"She's mad…" Charlie sighed, leaning his head into his hands. "She's mad at me for protecting her." He glanced at their perplexed looks. "It's a long story."

Arthur grinned slyly at his second oldest son. "Molly's right. We'll talk about this tomorrow." He waved him off. "You can take the twin's room for tonight."

Charlie sighed and got up. " 'Night, Dad. Night, Tonks."

"Wotcher, Charlie!" Tonks called as he went back upstairs and into the twins' room.

He'd laid down on the bed for only a few minutes when there was a small knock at the door. It cracked open the light from the hall flooded in and crossed the room, Charlie looked up to see Allie standing there, braiding her dark curls back from her face.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hi. Can I come in?"

"'course," he waved her in and she tiptoed over and perched next to him on the bed. "So, are you mad?"

"About what?"

"For being protective. I know you hate it."

Allie sighed. "_I'm_ trying to be good. Trying to go along with you here. Because this is your home and you know better than me…"

He grinned. "So I was right…?"

"Don't gloat," She hissed. "It's not attractive."

"I'll try not to," he promised. "As long as you admit that I was right."

"Fine, fine. You were right? Happy? She slipped one arm around his and pressed a kiss to his shoulder and rest her chin there.

"Yep. I can live with that." He wrapped his free hand around her waist, letting it run up and down the line of her spine.

She shivered a little, leaning closer.

"Cold?" He wondered.

She shook her head and scooted a little closer. "No," she said finally and took his hand off her back and cupped it between her own small hands. She turned it over and over until she placed her hand against his so that their fingers pressed against each other and Charlie noticed then how very tiny her hands were compared to his.

"You look confused about something," Allie noted, weaving her fingers through his. "What is it?"

He shook his head. "Nothing serious."

"You sure it's not being here? Back at home? It has to be kinda weird."

"It is a little," he admitted. "But I'm glad you're here with me."

"Well, I'm glad I can be of some service," she whispered as she reached up and slid her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her for a kiss.

"What was that for?"He wondered as he pulled her into his lap.

She shrugged. "It was a hard day, do I really have to have a reason?"

"Nah…" he shook his head. "Just curious is all." He whispered as she pulled his face back down to his with a sly smile.

And it was enough to numb his racing thoughts, worries and fears he would barely acknowledge, because when he was with Allie, none of it seemed real. None of it. Because he could feel only her, her lips, fingers, hair, those other things fell away into the darkness of his mind, never to be seen again.

Then, suddenly, she pulled away.

"What?"

She frowned up at him. "We were getting carried away."

"Yeah," he set her over to the other side of him.

"I don't think your parents will approve too much, huh?"

"Probably not," he grinned and lay back on the pillow. She copied him, only burrowing against his shoulder so her hand went around his waist and his free hand lay against hers. She fit there perfectly.

"This is nice," she commented sleepily.

"Go to sleep," he chuckled, tighteninghis hold on her.

" 'Kay," she yawned and let out a soft sigh.

Charlie fell asleep too, not long after Allie did, and despite the horrible day, he was smiling in his sleep.

* * *

_**So, i'm taking French this year and I thought I'd throw it in one of my stories:**_

_**"Bonjour, Fleur. M'appelle Allie. Je suis une Healer. Je suis ici aider"~ Hello Fleur, my name is Allie. I'm a healer.I'm here to help.**_

_**"Merci. S'occupe de Il. S'il vous plait. J'aime il"~ Thank you. Help him, please. I love him.**_

_**"Je comprend"~ I understand.**_


	8. I Walk the Line

**_HI guys! sorry I'm so so so so late! University is eating my soul alive! Read and Enjoy!!!!_**

**_Dislcaimer: I own nothing not even the song!_**

* * *

Chapter 8: I Walk the Line

"_**You've got a way to keep me on your side  
You give me cause for love that I can't hide  
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide  
Because you're mine, I walk the line"~ Johnny Cash, "I Walk the Line"**_

Charlie awoke suddenly to muted light trickling in the window along with the distinct sound of rain pattering on the roof and strangely he was in the twins' room. He sat up a little and ran his hand through his hair, confused. The dream he'd woken from had seemed so real….Allie was running through the woods, he wasn't sure which woods they were but he was following after her as quickly as he could. Every so often he would catch a glimpse of her through the trees. But when he looked down, he found a trail of blood leading him on ward to Allie… he shuddered and ran his hands over his face, trying to wipe the images from behind his eyes.

What time was it? How had he gotten to the twins' room? He squinted toward the window, it was afternoon light maybe? Afternoon? He thought to himself. "Afternoon?" he whispered and glanced around.

Strange, he remembered falling asleep next to her, his arm around her waist and settling his face into in her hair and breathing in that subtle mix of warm brown sugar and chocolate that clung to her. He could remember her muttering something just before he went to sleep, it wasn't really coherent but she had a smile on her lips. And for a while they slept in peace. Until she slipped into deep sleep and started flailing around. He winced as he ran a tired hand over his cheek: she twisted and turned and even had hit him once or twice it felt like. But he couldn't figure out when she'd stopped moving or even when she left. Hell, he couldn't even figure out what time it was.

Charlie stretched and finally glanced at the clock. It was one o'clock in the afternoon and Allie was nowhere to be found. So he finally accumulated the will to get up and went to the door. Cautiously, he stuck his head out, only to be met with low murmurings, shuffling feet downstairs, and Bill's soft snoring from the next room over. As he walked down the hall, he passed Ginny's room and it was full of suitcases and boxes; she and Ron were home.

He took the stairs two at a time as he held tight to the railing, hopping over the creaky steps, and stepping in the same spots that he did when he was a child. He walked into the kitchen where he found his mother, father and Lupin gathered around the kitchen table.

"There you are, Charlie-Bear! We thought you maybe you'd slipped into a coma," she patted his cheek as she passed.

"Still running on Romanian time," he told her with yawn as he began to reset his watch.

"So, Charlie," Lupin began as he walked over for a handshake. "What's this I hear about you bringing home a pretty Healer from Romania?"

Charlie felt blood rushing to his cheeks. Stupid Tonks! He hadn't seen her in years and the first time he saw her, she had to go blabbing. "Where is Allie anyway?" Charlie glanced around, half expecting to see her come barreling around the nearest corner.

"She accompanied Kingsley, Tonks, Mad-eye, Arthur and I to get Ron and Ginny from London." Charlie felt the excess blood drain from his face. So that hadn't been a dream, then? "From there, she and Tonks headed to St. Mungo's," Lupin replied as he checked his own watch. "They should be back soon, actually. Any time now." Now he sounded like he was trying to reassure himself instead of Charlie.

Molly placed her hand over Charlie's tightening fist. "She'll be fine, dear. Nymphadora's with her."

Charlie glanced back at his mother and for the first time noticed just how old she looked with the lines around her eyes and along her laugh lines. A few iron colored strands of her hair whipped through her curls and she moved a little slower than she used to. And these little things made him sad. Sadder than he could say because it was too sudden. He'd missed her gracefully falling into her age. Her hand appeared and stroked his cheek. "You worry too much. You're too young to worry."

"I have good reason," Charlie insisted.

Molly only smiled and sighed. "I know. But everything will be alright."

"However, the question remains," Arthur picked up a question that alluded to a conversation that might have been going on all night. "Are we going to allow this girl into the Order?" he looked to Lupin.

"She's bright and clever, no doubt about that. An excellent Healer," Lupin listed off. "But I don't know. Charlie?"

Charlie looked down at his hands. "I've already done enough; I let her come when I should have locked her in her room. I shouldn't have given in. Now she's all ready to join, to lay her life down for a cause she doesn't understand."

"Then, we'll give her some time." Lupin reasoned. "After the wedding we can talk further."

Charlie was about to agree when, suddenly, a red blur flew into the kitchen and attached itself to his arm with a cry of: "CHARLIE!"

"Hi Gin," Charlie grinned and swung his arm around his sister. But when she finally tipped her chin up to him, she wasn't the gap-toothed, pig-tailed eight year old he'd left behind. She was nearly sixteen now and she looked it. No wonder she hated being at school with Ron, no wonder she was so popular.

"What?" She asked.

Charlie shook his head. "It's nothing really. You're just all grown-up."

She pulled away to roll her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "It's not like I've got a third eye or horns or anything."

"No, but…you're just different, is all."

Ginny shrugged and took the seat next to him. "So you up for some Quidditch? I was thinking me and you against Ron and George or-" But she never got the chance to finish as Tonks and Allie came giggling through the kitchen door that Arthur held open.

Today, Tonk's hair was somewhat long, wavy and chestnut brown. And with her new petite nose and full lips she looked like she and Allie could have passed for sisters.

When Allie noticed he was sitting there, she trotted over. "Well, hey there sleepy-head," Allie wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Did you just get up?"

"Yeah, I did." He tugged her arm loose so she was next to him instead of behind, remembering that Ginny was next to him. "Allie, this is my sister, Ginny. Gin, this is Allie."

Allie smiled and reached out a hand. "I'm so glad to meet you! Charlie's told me all about you!"

Ginny looked Allie up and down before taking her hand. "Well, he's told me absolutely nothing about you…" she muttered mutinously.

But Charlie had more pressing things to ask then why Ginny was being so odd: "Everything went okay? Nothing happened?" He pressed Allie.

Allie laughed. "It all went according to plan. They accepted me and set me up with housing already. We stopped by and dropped off my bag and everything." She sighed. "You worry too much, you know?"

"I have a good reason to worry," he wound his hands around hers, pulled her close and checked her over; she had the same bright smile, the same tiny fingers, the same curious tilt of the head even when she knew exactly what was going on. She was so beautiful with her windblown curls and nonchalant stance that he realized it would kill him to lose her. "You're not exactly the most careful person I know."

She frowned a little and sighed. "I have to go check on Bill, and then I'll be back." Her hand traced the line of his cheek and down his jaw. And then, just as quickly as she had come she had gone up the stairs.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Ginny accused suddenly.

"I suppose," Charlie shrugged. "She's my date for the wedding."

"Oh," was all Ginny said and left. On her way out, she brushed against Ron, shooting him a particularly nasty look and then vanished.

"What's her problem?" Ron muttered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"I have no idea." He hugged his youngest brother, marveling at how much the kid had shot up. He was almost as tall as Bill or maybe even taller. "How is everything?"  
Ron shook his head. "Mad…the world's gone mad."

That shocked Charlie. He'd never heard his brother talk or act like this. Ron was the most oblivious person on the face of the planet. And as he looked at his youngest brother, he saw what this war was doing to his family, to his brother. He reached out and put his hand on Ron's mane of red hair. Ron looked up at his brother through the strands of his hair and there was a small smile on his lips.

"Tell me about school…" Charlie began.

Not too long after Allie had vanished upstairs, she returned, triumphant with Bill and Fleur trailing after her. Charlie and Ron's mother burst into a few tears and hugged all three of them. She lingered for a moment with Allie, cupping her cheek and telling her that she'd done well. Allie blushed and twisted a stray curl around her finger as Molly moved onto fussing over Bill.

When Arthur pulled her away, he called a meeting to order and shooed all the others out, including Allie and Ron. Allie left with a smile and said she would go sit on the porch, to watch the rain. She didn't look back as she left either.

Charlie could hardly pay attention through the whole meeting. His mind kept wandering back to his nightmare of Allie and how she had disappeared leaving only that trail of blood behind. He kept thinking that this was not the life he wanted for her and wondered how in the world Bill allowed Fleur to sit there next to him. When the mercifully short meeting had concluded, Charlie bolted from the room and ran out to the porch to find Allie perched on an old rocking chair.

"You really don't want me in the Order, do you?" Allie asked without looking at him.

He sat next to her. "No, I don't."

"Why not? Why am I not good enough?!" She snapped, turning around.

"It's not that Allie," He insisted as he tried to take her hand "And you know it."

"How do I know you're not lying?!" She crossed her arms over her chest, looking out into the rain.

Instead of responding right away, Charlie stepped around her and cupped her flaming cheeks in his hands. "When have I ever lied to you?"

She shook her head gently. "…no…"

"Then why do you think it's because you're not good enough?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's just an easy way of saying that I don't belong here?" She looked up at him and there he finally found her Achilles' heel. The spot she'd been hiding from him. "Because I don't belong with my parents or in Romania or Nepal or Iceland or-"

"Stop it," he ordered softly, holding his hand over her mouth. "Just stop and listen; I don't want you in the Order because it's a huge risk. That's all."

"Are you sure about that?" One of Allie's eyebrows lifted in accusation. "You're not just trying to get rid of me?"

Charlie smiled at her and slipped his arms around her waist. Still she kept her arms crossed over her chest, stubborn to the last. He leaned down and pressed a kiss under her jaw; that loosened her up some. "Very, very sure…" he told her.

She sighed and leaned into his embrace. "As long as you're sure."

He only laughed and led her back inside. Once they rejoined everyone else in the kitchen, Ginny glanced up at them and left.

"I don't think your sister likes me very much," Allie whispered.

"She just has to adjust," Charlie insisted. "She'll come around."

"You're awfully sure today, aren't you?" she quipped.

"I have my days."

* * *

**_So the plot thickens!!!!!! R AND R!!!!!_**


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